Anna's Musings & Writings

A Tangled Web Weaved. An Invalid Spouse, a Mistress, Illegitimate Children. What a Modus Vivendi!

Posted on April 2, 2024 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

“Oh, what a tangled web we weave when at first we start to deceive.” – Sir Walter Scott. From his poem “Marmion”.

This week’s writing prompt for 52 Ancestors is Favorite Recipe. I always cringe when this writing prompt or some version of it comes up. In the past I was able to share a story about my French ancestor’s lack of cooking talents when he cooked for guests at his inn, you may read about him here. The last time this prompt came up just with the word recipe, I wrote about a recipe for disaster when researchers share unvetted information and it’s passed down repeatedly and posted endlessly, you may read about that here. So, when this prompt came up again this year, I was not thrilled, so I decided to take a different approach since I don’t have a bunch of cool family recipes handed down, or anything really that would fit with favorite recipe.

I decided to take the word favorite and flip it to the opposite and to related words and meanings of unfavorite: disliked, estranged, alienated, forgotten, ignored. Then take the word recipe and play with it as well. Although many only think of food recipes when they hear the word recipe, its full meaning encompasses: a method of doing things, a prescription, a program, a technique, the process or processes, procedure, and receipt. Viewing it through a wider lens, it also includes modus vivendi which means way of living, lifestyle, way of life, and is related to modus operandi – a manner of working, a method, mode of operation, a way of doing things. Which is in turn related to the meaning of the word recipe.

In the end, that left me with an awesome writing prompt, unfavorite way of life. I could write about a situation where my ancestor was living a life that often felt as if she was forgotten and alienated, and the modus vivendi, the way of living she experienced after the birth of her last child very much would have left her feeling alienated from her husband, and in some ways forgotten. A story of being bedbound, a mistress, illegitimate children, and finally an early death at the age of twenty-seven. The modus vivendi of her second husband, his mistress, her child from her first marriage, her father, her husband’s children from his prior marriage, his illegitimate children (born after her death), his new wife he married months after her death (not his mistress) was quite a tangled web that was weaved.

I need to thank newly found Yarberry (Carter) cousin, who had knowledge about my ancestor’s life that I did not know prior, and I was able to help him by giving him the correct parentage, names of wives, and children for his ancestor John L. Wesley Carter.

I need to tell you about all the players in this story. First, I will discuss my direct ancestor, my 3rd great-grandmother, Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter.

Mary Ann Gooden was born about 1826 in Crawford County, Illinois. She was the daughter of Lewis Gooden and Lydia Watts. You may click on the names of her parents to learn more about my Gooden/Goodwin, Watts, and related lies.

She married McGuire Doughty in 1842 in Illinois. McGuire Doughty was the son of Rev. John M. Doughty and Mary Jane “Jane” McGuire. John M. Doughty was a reverend in the Primitive Baptist Faith. You may click on the names of his parents to learn about their family and related lines. You may also read about our ancestor Mayflower Pilgrim Edward Doty in a separate post.

In early 1843, already well into her pregnancy, she migrated with her husband from Illinois to Shiloh (now Springdale), Arkansas, and lived near the Shiloh Church, it was called the Regular Baptist Church at Shiloh which was started in 1840 and became known as the Primitive Baptist Church. Their only child, John Lewis Doughty, was born 11 March 1843 at Shiloh (now Springdale). McGuire Doughty dies at Shiloh only months later in December 1843, leaving her a young widow with an infant son. McGuire Doughty would have been buried near the Shiloh Church. In 1894, the graves near the Shiloh Church were moved to Bluff Cemetery in Springdale.

Photo above is of the Shiloh Church. This 1870 church is the third built by the congregation. My ancestors would have worshipped at the first log church that was burned during the US Civil War.

A bit about Shiloh, Arkansas and the Shiloh Church. In 1840, a small settlement was established around a log church known as the Shiloh Regular Baptist Church (it became known as the Primitive Baptist Church). The community became known as “Shiloh,” although Civil War records refer to the fledgling settlement as “Holcomb’s Spring,” after the pioneering John and Dorothea Holcomb family. The log church building burned during the Civil War and the Shiloh Church was rebuilt in 1868, a third church building was built in 1870, that church building is pictured above. By 1872, Shiloh had grown big enough to need a post office. However, Arkansas already had a town named Shiloh. Due to the abundant local springs, “Springs in the Dale” was suggested by Shiloh resident Sarah Reed Meek. The town was incorporated officially as Springdale in 1878. (2 & 3)

Photo above, Liam Neeson as Ethan Frome and his invalid wife Zenobia “Zeena” Frome played by Joan Allen.

Pictured above is Liam Neeson as Ethan Frome and Joan Allen as his invalid wife Zenobia “Zeena” Frome in the film Ethan Frome. Although the story of my ancestor Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter and her 2nd husband John Carter, and their live-in help Sarah “Sally” Gambill Bradshaw Yarberry does not mirror exactly the story in Ethan Frome, it is a reminiscent living situation.

Photo above is Patricia Arquette as Mattie Silver and Liam Neeson as Ethan Frome.

Pictured above is Liam Neeson as Ethan Frome and his wife’s cousin Mattie Silver played by Patricia Arquette. In the story his wife’s cousin came to live with the couple to keep house for her invalid cousin and her husband. Ethan Frome is revolved around the character Ethan Frome cheating on his invalid wife with her cousin who came live with them to keep house and help them, and his internal struggle between two women that tear at his heart.

Mary Ann Gooden continued to live in Benton County, Arkansas after the death of her husband McGuire Doughty, and worked the best she could to support herself in the ways a woman was allowed to at that time, helping to take care of the children of others, taking in laundry, sewing, midwifery, etc. In 1848, her widowed father Lewis Gooden came to live with her. Also, living in Benton County near her was a widower named John Carter, his 1st wife had died in 1846, leaving him with six children, aged from 1 year to 16 years old. John Carter was known to hire outside help, and most likely Mary Ann did work for him in some fashion. They married in 1847 in Benton County, Arkansas. The family migrated to neighboring Illinois, Washington County, Arkansas, where they had a son, Lemuel Carter, born there in 1849, but the Carter family migrated back to Benton County, Arkansas before 1852, where they had their second child Elisha Richard “Lish” Carter born 18 September 1852. Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter had complications during and after the birth of her last child and was sickly and an invalid after his birth. During this time of her being often bedbound, her husband John Carter hired to keep house a twice widowed woman named Sarah “Sally” Gambill Bradshaw Yarberry. Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter died in 1853. She was buried near her husband McGuire Doughty near the Shiloh Church, as noted above, the graves from near Shiloh Church were moved in 1894 to Bluff Cemetery.

John L. Wesley Carter was born about 1802 in Scott County, Virginia. He was the son of Joseph Carter, Sr. and Martha “Patsy” Harris. He married his 1st wife Martha Ann “Annie” Gibson on 10 November 1831 in Scott County, Virginia. They had the following children: Lucy, George, Mary “Polly”, Margaret Ann “Peggy”, Martha Ann “Patsy”, and James Washington Carter, Sr.

Lucy Carter was born in Scott County, Virginia, all the rest of the children were born in Arkansas, most in Washington County, and the last child James Washington Carter, Sr., was born in Benton County. John Carter is found in the 1840 Census for Washington County, Arkansas. Washington and Benton Counties, Arkansas are adjacent, and some towns and cities are located partly within each of the counties.

John Carter’s wife Martha Ann “Annie” Gibson Carter dies in 1846, leaving him a widower with six children aged between 1 year and 16 years old. My ancestor Mary Ann Gooden Doughty was a young widow with a son, living near John Carter in Benton County. At some point after the death of his 1st wife, it is believed that Mary Ann did some work for John Carter and by 1847 they were married.

The Carter family migrated to neighboring Illinois, Washington County, Arkansas, where John Carter had lived prior, where they had a son, Lemuel Carter, born there in 1849. John Carter is found in the 1850 Census for Illinois, Washington County, Arkansas.

Above is the section of the 1850 US Census listing the family of John Carter:

John Carter, aged 48, Male, Farmer, Real Estate value: $350, born in Virginia.
Mary Carter (Mary Ann Gooden Doughty), aged 23, born in Illinois.
Lucy Carter, aged 16, Female, born in Virginia.
Mary Carter, aged 12, Female, born in Arkansas.
George Carter, aged 15, Male, born in Arkansas, Deaf.
Margaret Carter, aged 11, Female, born in Arkansas.
Martha Carter, aged 9, Female, born in Arkansas.
James Carter, aged 5, Male, born in Arkansas.
John Carter (John Lewis Doughty), aged 8, Male, born in Arkansas.
Lemuel Carter, aged 1, Male, born in Arkansas.
Lewis Gooden (Mary Ann’s father), aged 58, Male, born in Virginia.
William R. Hillim, aged 11, Male, born in Missouri.

John Carter is also found in the 1850 Illinois, Washington County, Arkansas Slave Schedule Census. I was unable to view the actual slave schedule, only the slave schedule index, but he had at least one enslaved person in order to appear in this slave schedule census.

The Carter family migrated back to Benton County, Arkansas before 1852, where they had their second child Elisha Richard “Lish” Carter born 18 September 1852. Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter had complications during and after the birth of her last child and was sickly and an invalid after his birth. During this time of her being often bedbound, her husband John Carter hired to keep house a twice widowed woman named Sarah “Sally” Gambill Bradshaw Yarberry. Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter died in 1853 and was buried near her 1st husband McGuire Doughty near the Shiloh Church. In 1894, the graves near the Shiloh Church were moved to Bluff Cemetery in Springdale.

I will discuss the stories involving John Carter, 2nd wife Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter, and their live-in helper Sarah “Sally” Gambill Bradshaw Yarberry, further down when I discuss the life of Sarah “Sally”.

Just months after the death of his 2nd wife Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter, in 1853, he marries in Arkansas to Jilthea Snodgrass. Not much is known about Jilthea. She was born about 1835 in Tennessee.

John Carter and 3rd wife Jilthea Snodgrass had three children: John Lasher, Jane, and Allen Carter. The first two children were born in Hico (Siloam Springs), Benton County, Arkansas, then last child was born in Texas.

By 1859, the Carter family had migrated to Palo Pinto County, Texas. John Carter is found in the 1860 US Census, for Palo Pinto, Palo Pinto County, Texas. His occupation is listed as Stock (Cattle) Raiser. Found along with him in this census were his 3rd wife Jilthia, children from his 1st wife James, and Patsey (Martha) Carter, son of his 2nd marriage Elisha Carter, and children from his 3rd marriage John, Jane, and Allen Carter.

After the death of his 2nd wife, his orphaned stepson John Lewis Doughty was taken to Illinois by his father-in-law Lewis Gooden.

His oldest daughter Lucy Carter remained in Benton County, Arkansas, and married Hiram Casey “Billy” Smith. When John Carter migrated to Texas, I do not know what happened to his deaf son George Carter who was an adult by this time. Daughter Mary Carter married Nathan Blackwell.

There seems to be confusion as to the exact year or place of death for John Carter. It is listed as sometimes between 1863 and 1869 and was buried in a small cemetery in Palo Pinto County, Texas.

Photo of Sarah “Sally” Gambill Bradshaw Yarberry

The photo above is of Sarah “Sally” Gambill Bradshaw Yarberry, the twice widowed woman hired by John Carter to keep house when his 2nd wife Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter was an invalid after complications during and after the birth of her last child.

Sarah “Sally” Gambill was born 14 June 1815 in Bedford County, Tennessee. She was the daughter of Benjamin Gambill and Nancy A. Sanford.

Sarah was fifteen years old when her mother died in 1830. Sarah was raised for a short time by her stepmother Rachel Pennington Gambill. When her father remarried on 15 May 1830, Sarah was resentful of her new stepmother and was very unhappy at home. At the age of fifteen, she married on 4 October 1830 to Silas Elijah Bradshaw. Elijah may have been on overseer for her father, Benjamin Gambill. The James Bradshaw descendants state that Elijah killed a man in Tennessee over Sarah. (1)

The couple had eight children: Nancy Ann, Lavina E. “Vina”, Alfred N., Mary Jane “Jensie”, Harriett, John Houston, Elizabeth Jane, and James Wilson Bradshaw.

Her husband died in 1842, the same year their youngest child was born. The first five children born in Tennessee and Missouri. The last three children were born in Benton County, Arkansas.

After the death of her 1st husband Silas Elijah Bradshaw, Sarah married William John Elijah Yarberry/Yarbrough about 1843. Sarah was a recent widow at the time, who had lost guardianship of most of her children after the death of her husband Silas Elijah Bradshaw. Sarah must have had a difficult time after Elijah’s death and on October 18, 1842, guardianship of Nancy (11 years), Lavina (10 years), Alfred (8 years), Jane (6 years), Harriet (4 years), and John Houston (2 years); all minors underage of fourteen years, were given by bond to William W. Dickson, J. B. Robinson, and A. M. Morrison. There is no mention in the Bonds to James Willson born on 25 Jul 1842. He was less than three months old at the time of this proceeding and probably still nursing so the Court did not take him from his mother. (1)

The family lived south of Siloam Springs on Highway 16, at Norwich Prairie (Norwood) around Wedington Gap, close to the line between Benton and Washington Counties. (1)

Sarah and 2nd husband William John Elijah Yarberry/Yarbrough had two children: William Milton, and Silas Franklin Yarberry, both born in Benton County, Arkansas.

Family legend says the Sarah’s husband drank a lot, that she left him because of his drinking and went to live with her daughter Nancy Bradshaw who was only 17 or 18 years old but may have been married to Mr. Shaffer at the time. She began to regret leaving and decided to go back to him, but when she returned, she found him dead. (1) He died prior to the 1850 US Census.

Sarah is found as Sarah Yarberry in the 1850 US Census for Beatie, Benton, Arkansas. She must have regained custody of her children by this time. In the census listed with her are Nancy, Levina, Jone (Jane), Alford (Alfred), Harriett, John H., James, Wm, Silas T. Yarberry, and Winsbad Roberts aged 35.

All the children are listed with the surname Yarberry. All except Wm. and Silas should have been listed with the surname Bradshaw.

Sarah had a difficult time raising her children after the death of Mr. Yarberry. Family legend say she worked as a housekeeper, washed clothes, acted as a midwife and even split rails to support her family. (1)

During this time Sarah kept house for John Carter and his invalid 2nd wife, and children in Benton County. My ancestor Mary Ann Gooden Doughty was the invalid wife, she died in 1853. An affair began between John Carter and Sarah during this time. His wife Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter must have known something was going on, most of the time people think they are successfully being sneaky, but it’s often not the case. As well as the fact that her father Lewis Gooden was living with them during this time. Her son John Lewis Doughty was old enough to be able to figure out that something was going on, he was ten years old when his mother died. John Carter’s older children from his 1st marriage were certainly old enough to know what was going on. I am sure it was a very sad time for my ancestor, being often bedridden and knowing her husband is having an affair with the person that was hired to help her and her family, and there was nothing she could do about it.

After her death, her father Lewis Gooden returned to Illinois and took his now orphaned grandson John Lewis Doughty with him.

After her death, Sarah stayed on with John Carter and kept house for him and the children who were living at home. Sarah gave birth to twin sons on 1 March 1854 named John Milton Yarberry and Thomas Newton Yarberry. They were the sons of John Carter, but he never married Sarah the children used her married name Yarberry.

While Sarah was pregnant with the twins, John Carter married his 3rd wife Jilthea Snodgrass. Their first child John Lashler Carter was born 19 December 1854 in Benton County, Arkansas. This was only nine months after Sarah gave birth to her twin boys!

His older daughters from his 1st marriage, and his new wife Jilthea, were so resentful of this arrangement, that John Carter and Jilthea migrated to Palo Pinto, Texas by 1857. He faithfully sent money to provide for the twin boys to Sarah through his son-in-law Hiram Casey “Billy” Smith. However, Sarah never received the money. His daughter Lucy Carter Casey’s, on her deathbed, told her sister Mary Carter Blackwell that her husband Billy Smith kept the money meant for Sarah and the twin boys for himself. (1)

In later years Sarah and her twin boys Milton and Thomas moved to Colorado. She died in Pueblo, Pueblo County, Colorado on 28 August 1901, and was buried there in the Chico Cemetery.

Although naturally I am going to personally think more about the feelings and pain of my direct ancestor Mary Ann Gooden Doughty Carter, but I also have some sympathy for John Carter, and for Sarah.

John Carter was not in an easy situation, Sarah had lived a rough life in many ways, I cannot excuse their behavior or the pain it would have caused to my ancestor, his children, or his new wife Jilthea, but family history stories are not always flowery or rosy. Life happens, people become infirmed, sinful behavior and affairs happen, illegitimate children are born.

References:

Find a Grave (FAG) for Sarah “Sally” Gambill Bradshaw Yarberry
THE HISTORICAL MARKER DATABASE, Springdale in Washington County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central), Regular (later Primitive) Baptist Church of Shiloh.
Shiloh Museum of Ozark History, A Department of Springdale, Arkansas.

Updates on My Ancestors From in and Around Klingenmünster, Germany

Posted on March 21, 2024 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

Looking down at Klingenmünster from Burg Landeck, the castle atop a hill. (Source: Shutterstock / Leonid Andronov)

In late February 2024, I was finally able to locate the baptism record of my 3rd great-grandfather Heinrich Weiss. I am very grateful for the German genealogy website genealogienetz.de that has the Ortsfamilienbuch Klingenmünster (Klingenmünster Local Family Book) which contains church records, and death and burial records that I have been unable to locate elsewhere, this is where I found his baptism record and a plethora of family information and connections.

I updated my prior post: My Weiss, Fried, Propheter, and Related Ancestors from Klingenmünster, Germany, with the new information and changes to my family tree. That post is from May of 2021, so I decided I should make a new blog post with some of the new information.

My 3rd great-grandfather Heinrich Weiss is still of the same Weiss family of Klingenmünster, Germany, but finding his baptism record changed his parentage and female lines. His prior parentage I listed was based on DNA matches and guessing what year he was born based on various factors. There was so much intermarriage between the families of in and around Klingenmünster, that I have innumerable DNA connections to the same families, direct connections, and via marriage.

Heinrich Weiss was born 10 February 1820 in Klingenmünster, Germany. He was the son of Johann Jakob Weiss and Katherina Wendel. His baptism record is found in the Klingenmünster church records. I have not located a death record for Heinrich Weiss, but his wife Margaretha Fried died and was buried in Klingenmünster. Because I have not located a death record for him, he may have come to the USA with is daughter, my great-great grandmother Margaret (Margarethe) Weiss Nutick, if he did, then he must of died prior to the first census he would have been found in. But we know for sure that his wife, my 3rd great-grandmother Margaretha Fried Weiss died and was buried in Klingenmünster.

As stated above Henrich Weiss was the son of Johann Jakob Weiss and Katherina Wendel.

Johann Jakob Weiss was born 29 May 1785 Klingenmünster, and died there on 11 June 1852. He was the son of Johann Heinrich Weiss and Katharina Häcker, they married on there on 24 May 1773.

Johann Heinrich Weiss was born 30 Mar 1750 in Klingenmünster, and died there in 1798. He was the son of Johannes Weiss and Maria Elisabetha Bohrer, they were married there on 18 April 1746.

Johannes Weiss was born on 17 September 1694 in Klingenmünster, and died there on 31 August 1772. He was the son of Michael Weiss and Maria Elisabetha ____.

The furthest I can take the Weiss line back is to Michael Weiss and Maria Elisabetha _____. Michael Weiss was born about 1658, he died on 2 February 1713 in Klingenmünster. His parentage is unknown. The maiden name of his wife Maria Elisabetha is unknown. They are my 7th great-grandparents.

Katharina Wendel was born was born 18 July 1786 in Gleiszellen, and died 21 May 1856 in Klingenmünster. Gleiszellen is 1.1 miles from Klingenmünster. She was baptized on 19 July 1786 in Klingenmünster. She was the daughter of Peter Wendel and Maria Katharina Sambach. She married Johann Jakob Weiss on 1 December 1811 in Gleiszellen.

Peter Wendel was born 8 June 1758 in Klingenmünster and died 27 May 1816 in Gleiszellen. He married on 11 Oct 1785 in Klingenmünster to Maria Katharina Sambach. He was the son of Johannes Wendel and Anna Maria _____.

Johannes Wendel was born 30 May 1720 in Klingenmünster, and died there on 11 November 1776. The maiden name of his wife Anna Maria is unknown. He was the son of Johann Martin Wendel and Christina _____.

Johann Martin Wendel was born 1 July 1682, and died 27 October 1763 in Klingenmünster. His parentage is unknown. The maiden name of his wife Christina is unknown. They are my 7th great-grandparents.

Maria Katharina Sambach was born 1 June 1765, and died 29 January 1832 in Gleiszellen. She was baptized in Klingenmünster. She was the daughter of Johannes Sambach and Maria Magdalena Funstrocks/Funstercke.

Johannes Sambach was born about about 1741 in Klingenmünster. He married there on 11 Oct 1761 to Maria Magdalena Funstrocks/Funstercke. His parentage or date of his death is unknown. They are my 6th great-grandparents.

Maria Magdalena Funstrocks/Funstercke was born about 1742. She was the daughter of Georg Funstrocks/Funstercke, he would be my 7th great-grandfather.

Katharina Häcker was born 3 October 1749 in Klingenmünster, and died there on 21 November 1811. She was the daughter of Johannes Häcker/Hecker and Anna Maria Wendel. The Häcker surname is sometimes found as Hecker, which is just a variation of the surname Häcker.

Anna Maria Wendel was kin to my other Wendel ancestors that I discussed prior. She was born 27 December 1724 in Klingenmünster and died there 13 September 1780. She was the daughter of Johann Martin Wendel and Christina _____. I descend twice from this couple.

Johannes Häcker/Hecker was born 5 February 1723 in Klingenmünster, and died there 30 October 1783. He married on 27 February 1743 in Klingenmünster to Anna Maria Wendel. He was the son of Georg Nikolaus Häcker and Anna Juliana ____.

Georg Nikolaus Häcker was born on 1 October 1688 in Klingenmünster, and died there on 5 February 1740. He married on 30 Apr 1715 in Klingenmünster to Anna Juliana _____. He was the son of Hans Georg Häcker.

The maiden of Anna Juliana is unknown. She was born 11 January 1696 in Klingenmünster, and died there on 13 January 1781.

Hans Georg Häcker was born 1659, he died 12 February 1750 in Klingenmünster. The name of his wife is unknown. His parentage is unknown.

I actually descend twice from Hans George Häcker. Via his son Georg Nikolaus Häcker, that I just discussed, and also via his daughter Maria Elisabetha Häcker and her husband Hans Peter Willem. I talked about them further down in my other post when I discussed my Fried ancestors.

Maria Elisabetha Bohrer was born 5 December 1718 in Klingenmünster. and died there on 28 November 1773. She married there on 18 April 1746 to Johannes Weiss. She was the daughter of Johann Heinrich Bohrer and Maria Elisabetha Zwipf.

Johann Heinrich Bohrer was born 29 February 1692 in Klingenmünster, and died there 11 March 1722. He married there on 27 September 1716 to Maria Elisabetha Zwipf. Although his parentage is unknown, we do know that he had at least four siblings: Anna Eva Bohrer (married Abraham Wiessing/Wissing), Hieronymus Bohrer (married Anna Catherina Willem), Johann Georg Bohrer (married Anna Apollonia Lutz), and Elisabetha Bohrer (married Johann Martin Röhm).

Maria Elisabetha Zwipf was born about 1683 in Klingenmünster, and died there 20 April 1764. She was the daughter of Johann Richard Zwipf and Anna Maria ____.

Johann Richard Zwipf was born 1636 and died 26 December 1713 in Klingenmünster. He married there on 20 August 1719 to Anna Maria; her maiden name is unknown. His parentage is unknown.

My other new find was regarding my 5th great-grandmother Anna Barbara Ohl Fried. The maiden name of her mother was unconfirmed prior, but looking at church records I now know that she was the daughter of Daniel Ohl and Anna Maria Willem. Anna Maria Willem was the daughter of Hans Peter Willem and Maria Elisabetha Häcker. This is linked to my discussion of my Häcker ancestors above. Anna Maria Willem was the daughter of Hans George Häcker. I descend twice from Hans George Häcker via his son Georg Nikolaus Häcker and his daughter Anna Maria Willem Ohl.

Please see my original post My Weiss, Fried, Propheter, and Related Ancestors from Klingenmünster, Germany, for the meanings of the various surnames, more information regarding all of my ancestors hailing from that area, and to fit it all together with my other related lines from in and around Klingenmünster.

Everything posted above is from my own research into the church and other records found in and around Klingenmünster. DNA does show links to all the new female lines, and as I stated prior the Weiss lines go back eventually to the same 7th great-grandparents that I had listed prior to locating Heinrich Weiss’ baptism record.

Posted in Genealogy | Tagged Öhl, bohrer, family, family history, Family Tree, Fried, Funstercke, Funstrocks, genealogienetz.de, Genealogy, Germany, Gleiszellen, Hacker, Häcker, Hecker, History, Klingenmünster, Klingenmunster, Nutick, Ohio, Ohl, Ortsfamilienbuch Klingenmünster, Propheter, Sambach, Weiss, Wendel, Willem, Zwipf | Leave a comment

Margaret Woodrow Wilson, Interesting Kin. First Daughter, Acting First Lady, Suffragette, Greenwich Village Socialite, and Hindu Nun. 52 Ancestors, Week 51: Cousins.

Posted on December 17, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

The above photo is of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson with his wife Ellen Axson Wilson and their three daughters. Margaret Woodrow Wilson is second from the right.

With this week’s writing prompt, there were a myriad of cousins I could write about. Famous, well-known, historical, and those that lived simple lives. I was going to write about First Lady Ellen Louise Axson Wilson, the wife of the 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson. I knew very little about her. When researching her, I realized that she died 18 months into her role as First Lady, and her eldest daughter Margaret Woodrow Wilson took over the role as acting White House social hostess. After reading more about Margaret, I decided she was quite an interesting person, not as well-known as her parents, and would make for a good subject to write about this week.

First Lady Ellen Wilson considered herself a proud Southerner. So much so that she did not want her daughters born as Yankees! So, she returned to Georgia to give birth to her first two children. Ironically, her maternal grandparents, Rev. Nathan H Hoyt, Jr. and Margaret Bliss, were Yankees! He was born in New Hampshire, and she was born in Connecticut. It is through her grandmother Margaret Bliss that the lines of our cousin kinship are found. We share Colonial Massachusetts ancestors John Leonard and Sarah Heath.

John Leonard was born in England, he emigrated to British Colonial Massachusetts and settled in Springfield. His parentage is unproven. Preliminary Y-DNA analysis of descendants indicate he may have been related to James Leonard of Taunton and Samuel Leonard of New Jersey, but more research needs to be done.

He married Sarah Heath in Springfield on 12 October 1640. Her last name may have been Heald or Healy but is found as Heath in her marriage record. Although recently others looking at the actual marriage record and transcription believe it reads Heald. She was born in England. Her parentage is unproven. She was not the daughter of John Heald and Dorothy Royle, as some contend. (2)

Donald Lines Jacobus speculated that she may have been brought by a relative or had been an indentured servant. He notes that Gershom Hale or Heald, son of John Heald of Concord settled in Springfield a generation later, and it’s possible she was his sister. (1)

John and Sarah had 15 children before his untimely death. He was killed by Indians early in 1676. After his death, Sarah married twice more, on 21 February 1677 to Deacon Benjamin Parsons, who died at Springfield, 24 Aug. 1689, and thirdly at Springfield on 3 November 1690 to Deacon Peter Tilton, who died at Hadley, Massachusetts on 11 July 1696. She outlived all of her husbands and died 23 November 1711 in Springfield.

First Lady Ellen Axson Wilson’s direct line is via daughter Martha Leonard who married Samuel Bliss. My direct line is via son Josiah Leonard who married Sarah Dumbleton. After the death of Josiah Leonard, his wife married Thomas Root. Thomas Root is also my direct ancestor with his wife Mary Spencer.

First Lady Ellen Louise Axson Wilson and my great-grandfather Joseph Edward Cole were 6th cousins.

The above photo is of Margaret Woodrow Wilson with her two sisters. She was the first child of President Woodrow Wilson and his first wife, Ellen Louise Axson. She was born on April 16, 1886, in Gainesville, Georgia. The “Woodrow” in her name is from her paternal grandmother’s surname and her father’s middle name. Both of her grandfathers were Presbyterian ministers. (3) She had two younger sisters, Jessie Woodrow Wilson and Sayre Eleanor Randolph Wilson McAdoo.

At the time of her birth her father was teaching at Bryn Mawr College, a women’s liberal arts college in Pennsylvania. After attending local schools, she opted to study at Goucher College in Baltimore. She trained in piano and voice at the Peabody Institute of Music. She recorded multiple songs, one of them titled “My Laddie” that was released by Columbia Records. There is a photo further down of the Irish harp she played, which is now in the post-Presidency home of President Woodrow Wilson.

The photo above taken of Margaret Woodrow Wilson was in 1910 when she was aged about 24. The photo has been colorized.

Her father was elected as the 28th President of the United States and came into office on 4 March 1913. Her mother Ellen was a supportive wife and an excellent hostess. Though Wilson’s administration was the first not to hold an inaugural ball when he was elected president in 1912, Ellen’s cordiality made future White House parties successful. She also oversaw the weddings of two of their daughters. She continued doing art while living in the White House and even had a studio set up on the third floor. She donated many of her paintings to charity. As First Lady, Ellen Wilson worked tirelessly to improve housing in Washington’s poverty-ridden and largely black slums. (4)

She suffered from Bright’s Disease, a kidney ailment that left her increasing frail. She died at age 54 on 6 August 1914, just two years into Wilson’s first term as president. Her husband was devastated by her death. With his wife’s death and the stress that came with being president, Wilson was left feeling lonely and downhearted. (4) This is when their eldest daughter Margaret stepped in as acting First Lady.

Margaret was quite free-spirited and only a 28-year-old when her mother died. She held the post of acting First Lady for only a matter of months. She did not enjoy the social demands of the position and preferred her soprano singing studies to the role of White House social hostess.

The above photo was taken in the post-Presidency home of President Woodrow Wilson. This Irish harp belonged to his daughter, Margaret, a trained musician and singer. Photo by Daniel Mulhall, Retired Irish Ambassador.

A year after the death of President Wilson’s wife, he met Edith Bolling Galt in the elevator at the White House. They got married at Edith’s Washington townhouse nine months later. (4) When they became engaged in 1915, Margaret eagerly stepped aside and allowed Edith to take over the First Lady duties.

Margaret decided to instead embark on a career as a soprano singer, even traveling to Europe to perform for Allied troops serving in World War I. Below you can listen to Margaret singing The Star-Spangled Banner in 1915 to raise funds for the Red Cross.

Margaret and her two sisters made their support for women’s suffrage known both before and during their father’s term in office. Margaret seemed to express disagreement with her father on issues of race as well; while he institutionalized segregation of the federal workforce, Margaret, an education advocate, made a point of publicly visiting and calling attention to the poor conditions for African American students in the nation’s segregated capital. All three of Wilson’s daughters were reputed to have lobbied him on the issue of women’s suffrage. His racist policies, and his decision to enter the First World War, were protested by suffragists and others. (4)

The many other efforts of the Suffragists finally bore fruit in 1918, when President Wilson voiced support for a constitutional amendment allowing women to vote. The President indicated that the Senate should vote in favor of passage of the amendment, which was ultimately key to its success. (6)

After leaving the White House, Margaret moved to Greenwich Village, New York, a place she had frequented in earlier years. Her father died in February 1924, when she was only 37 years old. In his will, he left her an annual allowance of $2500 (which is worth $39,529 today) as long as she remained unmarried, and it didn’t exceed one-third of the estate’s income. She seemed to enjoy her Bohemian lifestyle, but also the stipulations of her father’s will did not lend itself to her leaving her spinsterhood.

circa 1925: Margaret Wilson (1886 – 1944), eldest daughter of the 28th President of the United States Woodrow Wilson. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Margaret later worked in advertising and lobbied for various social causes, but in the 1930s during a visit to the New York Public Library, she encountered a book on Eastern mysticism, and soon became deeply enthralled. In 1938 she traveled to the ashram of Sri Aurobindo in Pondicherry, India, where she remained for the rest of her life. As a member of the ashram, she was given the new name ‘Nistha’, meaning “dedication” in Sanskrit, for her devotion to its teachings. She and scholar Jospeh Campbell edited the English translation of the work on the classical Hindu mystic Sri Ramakrishna, The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna by Swmai Nikhilananda, published in 1942. In spite of entreaties from the U.S. government, Wilson refused to leave India during WWII; she died and was buried in Pondicherry in 1944. (6)

Margaret Woodrow Wilson was a First Daughter, an acting First Lady, an accomplished soprano singer and musician, a suffragette, and a Greenwich Village socialite. But she is perhaps best known for her fascination with Eastern philosophy and Hinduism and her becoming a Hindu nun in the last years of her life.

Above is Margaret Woodrow Wilson’s Obituary.

References:

Jacobus, Donald Lines. Hale, House, and Related Families, Mainly of the Connecticut River Valley (Connecticut Historical Society, Hartford, 1952); Pages 678-9.
A Record of the Descendants of Simon Henry & Rhoda Parsons” by Frederick Augustus Henry page 52a pub 1905 Cleveland, Ohio J. B. Savage Press.
Woodrow Wilson Children at totallyhistory.com.
Woodrow Wilson’s Wives at totallyhistory.com
Not Every First Lady Has Been Married to the President. The role of the United States’ first lady traditionally goes to the president’s spouse, but in instances it falls to others. history.com
Margaret Woodrow Wilson: First Lady, Suffragist, and Village Socialite. POSTED NOVEMBER 3, 2020, BY ARIEL KATES.

My Ancestor Martha Willoughby. 52 Ancestors, Week 49: Family Recipe. Blindly Copying Family Information Without Vetting the Research (or Lack Thereof) is a Recipe for a Family Tree Disaster.

Posted on December 3, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

This week’s writing prompt is Family Recipe, the suggestions are all related to family cooking recipes. I don’t really have a family cooking recipe to discuss that I can think of. But there are more than one meaning for the word recipe. The meaning that comes to mind first, a set of instructions for making a particular food dish. There are two additional meanings as well. The now archaic use of the word recipe to mean a medical prescription. The third meaning of the word recipe is one that is still used today, to mean something which is likely to lead to a particular outcome. (1) Examples, a recipe for disaster, a recipe for love, etc.

Above image is from the game Recipe for Disaster

You may think that my use of the phrase a recipe for a family tree disaster a bit of an exaggeration. But it is not. Once someone enters incorrect, unresearched, mis-researched, or just plain made-up information into a family tree online it gets copied thousands of times and is taken as gospel by some, despite no documentation. Getting people to rescind the incorrection information is a nightmare in itself, for even if you did get the original poster of the information to correct or remove the information, it is already out there being seen by the masses. To get thousands of people to make the correction in their trees or websites is almost impossible.

There is more than one example within my tree that I could use to make this point. But I am choosing to discuss my 4th great-grandmother Martha Willoughby Norris.

There is GREAT confusion regarding her. I have seen my Martha, the wife of James Norris, given the maiden names: Long, Bunyan, Donaldson, Williamson, Weathersby, and Willoughby!

I have researched all the records that are available and also used DNA to piece together the puzzle of her maiden name.

I have painstakingly gone through all my DNA matches and looked for a connection to any of the other surnames in Maryland that people have listed as a maiden name for my Martha, that are a DNA match to me and my extended family members that are descended from James Norris and his wife Martha.

Looking at all the maiden names linked to her, I will first start with Long, since it’s the name most often listed for her, and has been copied innumerable times. Martha Long was the daughter of Coulbourne Long and Easter/Ester _____. There is a marriage record to be found for Martha Long who married JOHN Norris, not James Norris!

John Norris who married Martha Long was distant kin to my James Norris. John Norris was the son of Edward Norris and Hannah Scott.

I have zero DNA matches to the surname Long in Maryland.

I descend from two related Norris lines. Edward Norris (the father of John Norris who married Martha Long) was a sibling of my ancestor Joseph Norris who married Mary Talbot. Edward Norris and Joseph Norris were both the sons of John Norris and Elizabeth “Eliza” Parsons. But my James Norris who married Martha, was only distant kin to the John Norris who married Martha Long. My James Norris, who was the son of Thomas Norris and Elizabeth McComas, was never married to Martha Long.

Both my direct ancestors (both are my 6th great-grandfathers) John Norris (m. Ann Wheatley) and Joseph Norris, Sr. (m. Mary Talbot) were the sons of John Norris and Elizabeth “Eliza” Parsons.

I discovered where people were getting the name Bunyan from, a marriage record from the 1800’s in London, England! A couple named James Norris and Mary/Martha Bunyan were married on 12 July 1843 in Saint Botolph Without Aldersgate, London, London, England. Obviously, this marriage record and this couple have no connection to Colonial Maryland a century+ earlier! I have zero DNA matches to the surname Bunyan.

Although I have a few DNA matches to the name Williamson, they are not in Maryland nor connected to this Norris line.

I do have DNA matches to surname Donaldson, but they are ancestors on the other side of my tree, they lived in Pennsylvania, and are not connected to the state of Maryland or to my paternal Norris line.

I believe the surname Weathersby was someone mistakenly listing it incorrectly when it should have been Willoughby. Since the surnames Williamson, Willoughby, and Weathersby, are all taken from old DAR applications of the same root ancestor James Norris, I believe they actually all should be the same surname Willoughby.

I have zero DNA matches in Maryland to the surname Weathersby.

Lastly, I will discuss the surname Willoughby. I have NUMEROUS DNA matches to descendants of Richard Willoughby and Mary Willoughby Hardcastle. Both are the children of Andrew Willoughby and Anne “Annie” ____. These DNA matches descend from these two siblings and also are DNA matches to numerous people that are close and distant kin to me and all descend from James Norris and Martha.

I also have DNA matches to descendants of Mary Willoughby who married William Wofford. She is a sibling of Andrew Willoughby. Both Andrew Willoughby and his sister Mary Willoughby Wofford are thought to be the children of William Willoughby and Hannah ____.

I went through all the known and possible children of Andrew Willoughby and Anne “Annie” ____, including their son Richard Willoughby.

Richard Willoughby migrated from Maryland to Johnston, North Carolina. My Martha was born in Maryland and remained in Maryland for most of her life (the family did migrate from Maryland to Kentucky. Her husband James Norris dies in Butler County, Ohio), she does not fit as the child of Richard Willoughby.

But my Martha does fit as the daughter of John J. Willoughby who married Rachel Diass (Dias/Dyas). He was also a son of Andrew Willoughby and Annie ____.

Many list Rachel Diass/Dyas as the daughter of John Diass and Mary Sinclair, but I have not seen any sources or documentation as to why they list Mary Sinclair as her mother. There is a good chance she is the daughter of a John Dias/Dyas. His will is proven in Talbot County Maryland is 1755 and his surname is listed as Dias/Dyas.

There is a John Dyas, Jr. listed as serving in the Maryland Militia for Talbot County, Maryland, in 1740 and 1748. This could be the same John Dias/Dyas who dies in 1755, or he may have had a son named John Dyas/Dias, Jr. after him.

Rachel Dyas/Diass (and John Dias/Dyas/John Dias/Dyas, Jr.) may have been relations of Thomas Dyas who is listed as being born before 1640 and died before 1700 in Westmoreland County, Virginia. Thomas Dyas is one of the early colonial settlers of southern Maryland and Virginia’s northern neck counties.

I do have Dyas/Diass DNA matches.

Some give the maiden name for Anne “Annie” wife of Andrew Willoughby as Dent.

She is not the Annie Dent that is listed as coming to Virginia in 1729. She is not Anne Dent that was the daughter of William Dent and Elizabeth Fowke, that Anne Dent died unmarried and is buried in the Durham Churchyard in Charles County, Maryland. She also is not Annie Dent, who was the daughter of John Dent and Mary Hatch, and married John Cadle.

I don’t believe the maiden name for Anne “Annie” ____, wife of Andrew Willoughby, is truly not known and has not been proven.

Andrew Willoughby is thought to be the son of William Willoughby, who was born in England and died 13 September 1713, in Dorchester, Maryland. But more research needs to be done to substantiate the parentage of Andrew Willoughby.

Photo from My Brave Fusiliers! blog. Smallwood’s Maryland Regiment 1776.

A marriage record for James Norris and Martha ____ has not been found. The first name Martha and her maiden name Willoughby are from an old DAR application, which does not always have accurate information, but often it does, and sometimes will give helpful and informative clues, even if it does contain errors.

James Norris was a private in the Continental Troops, Baltimore County, 1st Maryland Regiment (Smallwood’s Regiment) during the American Revolutionary War.

Side note: There are some, like I have quoted below, that have Martha moving to Bracken County, Kentucky where Joseph and James were living. “James Norris born Baltimore County Maryland in 1747/8. He was devised a slave in his father’s will in 1761. He was appointed administrator for the estate of Moses Norris in 1783. He migrated to Mason co., Ky with his brother Aquilla & his nephew Abraham Norris & others about 1793. About 1805 Aquilla & James moved to Brown co., Oh. where Aquilla located. Tradition states that James settled near Dayton [Ohio]; no evidence has been discovered to substantiate the tradition. James died at the home of his son, Aquilla, in Butler County, Ohio. Martha moved to Bracken County, Ky where her sons, Joseph & James [lived].” [Harry Alexander Davis, The Norris Family of Maryland & Virginia; Genealogy of Thomas Norris 1361 – 1930 (4 vol. 1941 Washington D.C. Transcript), pg. 352-3,]

In the above quoted passage, the author is confusing the two families of James Norris and John Norris. Some of the information is correct, some is not. The Martha A. Norris who dies in September 1819 in Kentucky (who is mentioned in the book) is Martha A. Long Norris, the wife of John Norris. Although there is some confusion when it comes to the woman named Martha Norris who died in September 1819. There is a Martha A. Norris who died September 1819 and is buried in Fallston, Harford County, Maryland. This latter Martha was born Martha Amos. So, she is not the same woman as Martha Long Norris.

I would say my analysis of my DNA matches, and available records, when comparing all the surnames given for her maiden name, that Willoughby is the only name that is backed up by a very strong DNA connection.

My direct line:

John J. Willoughby and Rachel Dyas/Dias.
Martha Willoughby and James Norris.
Sarah “Sally” Norris and John A. Armstrong.
Bradford Carroll Armstrong and Martha Ann Knight Lyons.
George Pendleton Armstrong and Alice Elizabeth Nutick. (my great-grandparents).

Do I believe that my writing here about the confusion regarding the two women named Martha, that both married men of the same Norris family, will solve the nightmare of thousands of family trees that incorrectly list Martha Willoughby as Martha Long? Well, hope springs eternal!

Reference:

OED – Oxford English Dictionary

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 1776, 1st Maryland Regiment, 52 Ancestors, Amercian Revolutionary War, American Revolution, Armstrong, British America, British American Colonies, British Colonial America, Bunyan, Colonial America, Colonial Maryland, Continental Troops, DAR, Dias, Diass, DNA, Donaldson, Dyas, England, family history, Family Recipe, Family Tree, Family Tree Disaster, Genealogy, Kentucky, Long, Lyons, Maryland, Maryland Regiment, Norris, Nutick, Ohio, Recipe, Smallwood's Maryland Regiment, Virginia, Weathersby, Williamson, Willoughby | 1 Comment

Abbess Elizabeth Throckmorton, 52 Ancestors, Week 47: This Ancestor Stayed Home

Posted on November 25, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

This week’s writing prompt is this ancestor stayed home, some suggestions given were Homemakers, ancestors who lived their entire lives in one place, and someone who lived in a “home,” are just a few possibilities. I decided to throw it way back and talk about my 15th great-grandaunt Elizabeth Throckmorton, Abbess of Denny, and what became of monks and nuns at the dissolution of the monasteries by Henry VIII.

My Throckmorton ancestors are on my maternal side, my Underhill ancestors and family lines that I wrote about a few weeks ago.

Dissolution of the monasteries under Henry VIII.

Michael Carter writes about the dissolution at the English Heritage website:

Between 1536 and 1540, on the orders of Henry VIII, every single abbey and priory in England – some 800 in total – was dissolved, or forcibly closed. The shattered remains of monasteries such as Binham Priory, Buildwas Abbey, Gloucester Greyfriars, White Ladies nunnery and Shap Abbey are enduring witness to four years of willful and targeted destruction that led to permanent changes in the kingdom’s religion, politics, society and economics.

As a result, as many as 14,000 monks, nuns and friars, as well as countless monastic servants and tenants, had their lives changed forever, while about 200 people were executed for opposing the Dissolution.

Monasteries were especially vulnerable to attack, because of what they stood for. Many had close ties with the papacy and were home to monks and nuns who were loyal to traditional religion. Moreover, religious reformers who gained influence under Henry were especially critical of the monasteries. But monasteries were also at risk because many of them were extremely rich – and the king was often desperately short of money.

The Dissolution (also known as the Suppression) of the Monasteries proceeded in stages. The ‘lesser monasteries’ (those with an income of below £200 a year and fewer than 12 inmates) were dissolved in 1536. This was followed by further dissolutions that gathered pace in 1538, and by the middle of 1540 every monastery in England and Wales, many with histories stretching back to the Anglo-Saxons, had been dissolved.

A minority of monks, nuns and canons welcomed the dissolution of their monasteries and release from their vows. They included a small number of Evangelicals who actively embraced the reformers’ cause.

But for most monks and nuns, the arrival of Henry’s commissioners and the destruction of their monasteries was a distressing experience. One modern scholar has even argued that some developed symptoms of what we would now recognize as post-traumatic stress disorder. It is easy to understand why. The monasteries were not only their home; they were also at the center of their belief system. They provided status, self-identity, friendship and security. There are even reports of some monks dying within days of the suppression of their monasteries. (1)

Generally, at the closure of the monasteries and nunneries, most of the religious accepted the offer of a pension. This award was generally left to the discretion of the commissioners carrying out the closure rather than being a centrally set sum. The wealth of the monastery would be considered, with those in higher ‘management’ positions, such as an abbot, being offered an increased sum – partly, it has been argued, to entice them to go peacefully. Older members could also receive an increased amount as their chances of future employment were less than the younger members, who could potentially augment their pensions. (2)

Not all went away peacefully, some chose exile; others offered resistance to the changes. Several that resisted were hanged, drawn and quartered, while others ‘disappeared’ in prison and were starved to death. (2)

Not surprisingly, the nuns received smaller pensions, despite having less options for future employment than the monks. Many nuns returned to their family homes.

Elizabeth Throckmorton had been the Abbess of Poor Clares at Denny in Cambridgeshire since at least 1512 and perhaps earlier (3) she and the nuns under her charge were ones left without their religious house they had lived in together for many years. Denny Abbey had existed since the 12th century. It was inhabited by three different religious orders, the last being a convent of Poor Clares (Franciscan nuns).

Denny Abbey was located close to the main road between Ely and Cambridge and wayfarers and travelers would have sought food and alms from the nuns along their journey.

Today, the main remnants of the Denny Abbey buildings, showing the door to the Templar church at center, and the priest’s house at right.

She was mentioned as “myne suster Dame Elisabeth abbas of Denny” in the 1518 will of her brother Sir Robert Throckmorton and she received a bequest of 20 shillings. (3)

Elizabeth was renowned for both her piety and her learning. In 1528 when Humphrey Monmouth, alderman of London, ran afoul of the authorities for distributing copies of Tyndale’s translation of Erasmus he was recorded as saying that he had lent his copy to Elizabeth, at her request. (4)

After the closure of the convent in 1539, she, like many other nuns, returned to her family home in Warwickshire. She returned to her family seat of Coughton Court in Warwickshire, which was now the home of her nephew Sir George Throckmorton. The Throckmortons remained a resolutely Catholic family. She and at least two or three nuns, most likely one of whom was her niece Margaret Throckmorton (daughter of Sir Robert Throckmorton) lived quietly in an upper floor at Coughton. They wore their brown monastic habits, they followed the Rule of the Order, and continued their conventual religious life the best they could.

The dole gate from Denny Abbey, preserved at Coughton Court, Warwickshire. The top hatch was used for conversation, and the bottom one for passing food or ‘dole’. (© National Trust/Simon Pickering)

Today you will find at Coughton Court, in the dining room, the ‘dole gate’ from Denny, a wooden hatch formerly set into the abbey’s front door, which is inscribed with the name of Dame Elizabeth and her monastery. At Denny it was used to distribute charity to the poor while ensuring the seclusion of the nuns. It may have been used at Coughton to provision Dame Elizabeth and her sister nuns while they maintained their strict enclosure. (1)

The actual words on the dole gate are ‘DOMINĀ ELISABETH THROGMARTON ABBATISSA DE DENNE DEVS LVITO’ which translates as ‘God absolve Dame Elisabeth Throgmarton, Abbess of Denny. (5)

Coughton Court, Warwickshire. Photo ©Bob Radlinski.
The Coughton estate has been owned by the Throckmorton family since 1409, but the oldest section of the building is the Tudor gatehouse (shown here) dating from 1530.

Elizabeth Throckmorton was the daughter of Sir Thomas Throckmorton of Coughton Court, Warwickshire, England and Margaret Olney. The Throckmorton family (originally de Throckmorton) took its surname from the manor of Throckmorton in the parish of Fladbury, Worcestershire, which from the 12th century they held under the overlordship of the Bishop of Worcester. They acquired the manor of Coughton by marriage in the early 15th century. (6) Sir Thomas Throckmorton was the High Sheriff, Knight of the Shire, commissioned for the defense of the kingdom, appointed steward of all castles, manors, etc., controlled by the Bishop of Worcester and high sheriff of the counties of Warwick and Leicester.

Elizabeth Throckmorton, Abbey of Denny, had numerous siblings including my direct ancestor Margery Throckmorton (married Richard Middlemore). (7)

A brass plaque in the church at Coughton, Warwickshire commemorates the abbess’s death on 13 Jan 1547. (3)

References:

Carter, Michael What Became of the Monks and Nuns at the Dissolution? english-heritage.org.uk
Q&A: Where did the monks go after the dissolution of the monasteries? historyextra.com
Erler, Mary C. Women, Reading, and Piety in Late Medieval England Cambridge University Press, 9 Mar 2006 Google Books.
Peter G. Bietenholz, Thomas Brian Deutscher Contemporaries of Erasmus: A Biographical Register of the Renaissance and Reformation, Volumes 1-3 University of Toronto Press, 1 Jan 2003 pg. 321 Google Books.
National Trust UK, Coughton Court. nationaltrust.org.uk
Sir George Throckmorton. en.wikipedia.org
Roberts, Gary Boyd, The Royal Descents of 600 Immigrants to the American Colonies or the United States (2 vols.), Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Co. (2008), 558.

To learn more about Denny Abbey:

DENNY ABBEY AND THE FARMLAND MUSEUM. english-heritage.org.uk
Denny Abbey. en.wikipedia.org
Denny Abbey Farmland Museum. dennyfarmlandmuseum.org.uk

To learn more about Coughton Court:

National Trust – Coughton Court. Facebook for Coughton Court.
COUGHTON COURT. coughtoncourt.co.uk
Coughton Court. History, tourist information, and nearby accommodation. britainexpress.com

To learn more about the Throckmorton family:

THE THROCKMORTON FAMILY OF COUGHTON COURT. ourwarwickshire.org.uk
Coughton Court Gunpowder Plot and Gardens. Chapter 4: History of the Throckmortons. tudortimes.co.uk
Browning, Charles Henry. (1898). The Magna Charta Barons and Their American Descendants with the Pedigrees of the Founders of the Order of Runnemede Deduced from the Sureties for the Enforcement of the Statutes of the Magna Charta of King John, page 199.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Catholic, Famous Kin, Genealogy, Religious | Tagged 52 Ancestors, Abbess, Cambridgeshire, Catholic, Christian, Coughton, Coughton Court, Denny Abbey, dissolution of the monasteries, dole gate, Ely, England, faith, family history, Family Tree, Fladbury, Franciscan, Genealogy, Gunpowder Plot, Henry VIII, Humphrey Monmouth, IHS, Leicester, Middlemore, nuns, Olney, Poor Clares, religious houses, religious orders, Roman Catholic, Rule of Order, Templar church, Throckmorton, Underhill, Warwick, Warwickshire, Worcestershire | Leave a comment

Youthful Shoplifters, My Grand-Aunt Goldie Cole & Her Friend Rosie Venck. 52 Ancestors, Week 46: This Ancestor Went to Market.

Posted on November 14, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

I wasn’t really sure what to write about this week when I received the prompt of this ancestor went to market, I do have some ancestors that took wool and cloth to market, I have a few siblings of my direct ancestors that worked in the town store, one brother of my great-grandfather owned and operated a bookstore, but the week was passing by and nothing really grabbed my attention to write about, then I happened upon a newspaper article I had shared prior about my grand-aunt Goldie May Cole and her friend Rosie Venck, regarding them shoplifting during the holiday shopping rush. I thought to myself, well they did go to market, or rather stores, it’s just a different take on the writing prompt.

The newspaper clipping is above. It was published on 31 December 1909 in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the local newspaper The Fort Wayne Daily News. Goldie was aged ten years, and her friend was aged fourteen. They shoplifted three muffs, several yards of silk ribbons, a prayer book, and other articles from downtown Fort Wayne stores during the holiday shopping rush. The high temperature that Christmas in Fort Wayne was 24 ° and the low was 10 ° with no snow or rainfall. I envision carolers singing as the girls mingled in the chilly weather among the multitude of shoppers rushing to get last minute gifts. At least in Goldie’s case, she and her mother would have been quite poor during this Christmas holiday, her mother did have some kin living 27 miles away and a few others living 40 miles away, so if they were able to travel that far, they could have had a Christmas dinner by going to be with relatives, if not, they would have been depending on the goodwill of others, or a charity to provide a Christmas meal. I am sure that all the items in the many downtown stores were like glittering objects she knew she would not be receiving as gifts. I don’t know the full financial situation of Rosie’s family, but the girls couldn’t seem to help themselves. They stored the stolen goods at each of the girl’s houses, Rosie’s parents are the ones that turned them in, knowing their daughter did not have the funds to purchase the items, nor were they gifted to her. Rosie’s older sister found her at Goldie’s home and forced her to return home after being away for a few days. They were brought to the police station and the girl’s confessed, and they were put in the charge of Probation Officer Patton until they could be sent to The Indiana Industrial School for Girls.

Vogue Magazine 1910 Autumn Models. Note the lovely muff she is holding. Muffs were a popular fashion item.

According to the article Rosie Venck was born about 1886, and she lived with her parents and had at least one older sister and the family lived on John Street in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Her parents tell the newspaper that they have been unable to curb her wayward tendencies and are anxious that she be sent to the Industrial Home (in Indianapolis). I must assume that possibly the newspaper spelled her last name incorrectly. The Cole home was on Murray Street. The distance between Murray Street and John Street is less than a mile, so the girls lived near each other and spent time at each other’s homes.

More recently I was able to find a bit more about Rosie Venck. Firstly, she was born Rosa “Rosie” Ciernack/Charniak about 1895 in Poland (in an area also listed as Austria at that time). The surname spelling is taken from the 1910 Census, it may have been Cierniak or even Czerniak. According to the marriage record for her sister Anna S. Czarniak, they were the daughters of John Czarniak / Charniak and Mariana Sophia “Mary” Nadoshon/Nadospon/Niedospal. Her stepfather was Michel “Mike” Wnek, his surname is spelled various ways in different records as Venck, Vneck, Venck, Vnuk, Venck, and Vueck, but it appears the correct spelling was Wnek, later descendants spell it Wenk. She had an older stepbrother named Joseph Wnek, two full siblings: older sister Anna S. Ciernack/Czarniak and younger sister Stephanie Ciernack, and five half-siblings: Frank, Lewis, John Michael, Francis Agnes Wnek, and Michael A. Wnek. Some family trees also list an additional stepsister named Esther Lillian Wenk.

According to the 1910 US Census and the birth certificate for Francis Agnes Wnenk (who was born in February 1910), the family resided at 2005 John Street, Fort Wayne, Indiana. Her mother marries a third time on 23 November 1914 in Fort Wayne, Allen, Indiana, to Nicodemus/Nicholas Pogorzelsky. I find her with this husband in city directories in Fort Wayne for many years and I find them in the 1920 census with her stepson Joseph Wneuk. I find them in the 1930 census living together with her son John Venck, he is spelling the surname as Wneuk. Rosie is not found living with them.

We can surmise that her older sister mentioned, but not by name, in the newspaper article, was Anna Ciernak, who was eighteen in 1910. In the 1910 Census, I found the family with a date of census as April 1910. Interestingly, I do find Rosie in the 1910 Fort Wayne, Indiana, City Directory. She is listed by the name Rosie Ciernack, and is working as a clerk, and living at the same address as her mother, stepfather, and siblings. In the 1910 census she is listed as aged 15 and working as a bottle cleaner in the medical works industry. She could read and write and had a 4th grade education. I do not find any other records for Rosie Ciernack. Due to her being some years older than ten-year-old Goldie Cole, and already showing she could work, the court may have not sent her to The Indiana Industrial School for Girls, although the newspaper article does indicate that both girls were going to be sent there.

I discovered a snippet in the 1912 newspaper article above regarding her stepfather. It appears he raised her from a young age and considered her to be his daughter. It seems they did not send her off to The Indiana Industrial School for Girls, or if they did, it was for a short period of time. For as you can read above, her stepfather was distraught because his sixteen-year-old daughter (who could only have been Rosie) stayed away from home for two weeks, and friends told him that she was a “a bad girl”. Sadly, Mike Wnek committed suicide outside of his grocery store in Fort Wayne.

Downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1910. It would have looked very much like this when the girls went into the shops during the Christmas holidays in 1910.

As stated in the newspaper, Goldie was only ten years old, but that in spite of her tender years is said to have been mixed up in several petty thieveries before. I must point out here that Goldie’s childhood was one wrought with poverty and parental alcohol abuse, along with lots of drama, which was often detailed in the very same newspaper. She was the daughter of Joseph Edward Cole and Anna Cora Prindle. Her parents had divorced by 1910. By the 1910 census her father had already migrated to Detroit, Michigan. He is found there working as a laborer in an auto factory, living with him is found his son Jesse Cole, aged twenty-two, working as a tailor in a tailor shop. I am unable to locate Goldie or her mother Anna Cora Prindle Cole in the 1910 census, but from the newspaper article we know they were living on Murray Street in Fort Wayne. Goldie’s older brother Loren Richard “Dick” Cole aged twenty-four was also already living in Detroit in 1910. Her nineteen-year-old brother Durward Edward Cole had been sent to the Indiana Boys School in Guilford, Indiana, where he is found living in 1910. Her sister Mabel R. Cole, aged fourteen, is found in 1910 living in Detroit with her aunt Ona Belle (Prindle) Danner. Her sister Gladys Cole had died earlier in the year at age seven. Her two siblings Ida Cole and Carl Cole did not live to adulthood but may have been alive at the time, and if so would have been aged four, and twenty months. So, it appears most of Goldie’s siblings, and her father, were not living with she and her mother in 1910.

Indiana State Industrial School for Girls, children playing, view of building, 1910.

Goldie Cole was sent to the Indiana Industrial School for Girls in Indianapolis. Her friend Rosie may have been sent there as well for short time. Above is a photo taken in 1910 of girl’s playing in the yard of the school with the school building in the background.

Interestingly, this school was still in use as of 2003. The Indiana Girls’ Industrial School started off with just one building but as it changed to Indianapolis Girls’ School, as of 2003, there were a total of 7 housing cottages, a school, a clinic, a cafeteria, and a church also on campus. (1)

Although I do not know what became of Rosie Ciernack/Charniak Wnuk after 1912, I can tell you about the life that my grand-aunt Goldie Cole lived. How long she was at the Indiana Industrial School for Girls, I do not know. But it is known that ten years later, by the time she was nineteen, she had migrated to Detroit to join her father and siblings. Her mother had migrated by this time to Phoenix, Arizona. She married for the first time on 20 January 1919 in Detroit, Michigan to Manville Harold Dewing. He was the son of Frank E. Dewing and Florence Wills; he was born in Detroit. Her groom was only sixteen years old! The marriage ended with an annulment on 26 April 1920.

Annulment record of the marriage of Goldie Cole and Manville Dewing.

The marriage appears to have been very short lived for on 13 January 1920 Goldie is found in the census living with her father Joseph, her brother Durward and his wife Glenna, and Glenna’s sister Marie D. (Kennedy) Alexander. Her occupation is listed as laundry presser. She is listed as married in the census, but from the above annulment record, her husband filed for an annulment on 26 May 1919, and it was uncontested and granted on 26 April 1920. Interestingly, in the annulment record it includes his mother as a party, and she is listed as “Florence DeWing, his next friend”. I am not sure why she is listed that way, but it makes sense his mother would have had an issue with the marriage. He went on to marry three more times and had luck with his last marriage and had two children in the 1930s.

Divorce record of the marriage of Goldie Cole and Albert Kaskeny.

She married second on 28 January 1921 in Detroit to Albert J. “Bertalan” “Click” Kaskeny. He was the son of Joseph “Jozsef” Keskeny and Elizabeth “Erzesbeth’ Pavel. He was born in Hungary. He immigrated to the USA at the age of six with his parents. This marriage lasted fifteen months before he filed for divorce on 25 April 1922 on the grounds of extreme cruelty. The divorce was granted on 5 September 1923. He married second in 1924 and had six children from this second marriage.

My grandmother Glenna Annette Kennedy Cole and her sister-in-law Goldie May Cole. Photo taken about 1920.

The above photo is of my grandmother Glenna Annette Kennedy Cole (wife of Durward Edward Cole) and her sister-in-law Goldie May Cole. The photo was taken some time around 1920. My grandparents left Michigan by 1926 where they are found in Pheonix, Arizona, visiting his mother Anna Cora Prindle Cole, she had migrated there prior. They migrated to Amarillo, Texas, then to Oklahoma, where they lived for ten years, before eventually ending up in San Diego California in 1941. The father Joseph Cole died in 1924. Goldie and her brother Jesse remained in Detroit, Michigan. Sibling Loren Richard “Dick” Cole also stayed in Michigan until at least 1935 but lived in Pontiac. By 1940 he was living with his brother Durward and his family in Oklahoma, he lived near his mother in Pheonix briefly but then followed his brother Durward onto San Diego.

Goldie married a third time sometime after her divorce is final September 1923 and before the 1930 census to Joseph Ventrallo/Vantrallo. He was the son of Peta Vantrallo and Annie Gurrio. He was born in Bari, Puglia, Italy and came to the USA at age fifteen. He was a baker by trade. This marriage lasted longer, they are found together in the 1930 and the 1940 censuses and in city directories. But the marriage ended in divorced after the 1940 census and by April 1943, for he marries to another in May 1943, and had at least one child from this second marriage.

Goldie married a fourth time before 1945 in Michigan to Rudolph H. Tolliver. His parentage is unknown, he was born in Germany about 1891. The only record I could locate about him was that he is found in the 1940 census living as a lodger in a household in Sterling, Macomb, County, Michigan. He is working as a farm helper. He is listed as a naturalized American citizen. By 1950 he either died or the marriage ended in divorce.

In 1950 she is listed as Goldie Tolliver and is found living in Port Huron, St. Clair, Michigan, and lists herself as widowed. She is working as a kitchen helper in a lunchroom. She is listed as a roomer. I do know that this was her last marriage. My second cousins that live in Michigan and remember her, told me her last name was still Tolliver in the 1960s. She eventually ends up living with her niece (daughter of Jesse Cole) and my cousins remember her living with them. They have fond memories of her; they did say she liked her drink! And that she fell down the stairs and that resulted in her death. I have been unable to locate her death record, but they remember it being around 1968. So, she would have died when she was in her late 60s.

What can be gathered about her life is that as a child she had been a shoplifter on more than one occasion. She grew up poor, and I am sure that, along with her homelife, added to her childhood penchant for thievery. She had a rough childhood and upbringing; she ended up in the Indiana Industrial School for Girls. She doesn’t appear she have had any brushes with the law after she became an adult. Her emotional maladies from her childhood carried over into issues in her adulthood. There was a history of alcohol abuse on the Cole side, and according to family in Michigan she did drink a lot. Her second marriage ended with her husband accusing her of extreme cruelty. I am sure that her drinking added to the reasons why she was married four times, but she did seem to find at least some happiness and marriage longevity in her third marriage.

Siblings Jesse and Goldie Cole. Taken in Michigan.

She had an 8th grade education according to the censuses and could read and write. She worked as a laundry presser, then was able to be a housewife for some years when married to the baker Joseph Ventrallo/Vantrallo, before she is found working as a kitchen helper in a lunchroom. She never had any children, it appears she was unable to have children, for her first three husbands all had children with other women in their later marriages. She was close to her brother Jesse. Family members in Michigan (children and grandchildren of her brother Jesse Cole) have fond memories of her and loved her, and she ended up living with family in the last years of her life.

References:

Family Tree: The Indiana Girl’s School | Posted by Krystal Becker | Feb 2, 2013. historicindianapolis.com

Other than the short use of this reference above regarding The Indiana Girl’s School, the remainder was written based solely on my own research and experiences.

If you’d like to learn more about the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks project, please visit here:

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.

Or join the Facebook group Generations Cafe.

Posted in 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks, Genealogy | Tagged 52 Ancestors, Albert Bertalan Click Kaskeny, Allen County Indiana, Cole, Detroit, Dewing, family history, Family Tree, Fort Wayne Indiana, Ft. Wayne, Genealogy, Goldie Cole, Grand-aunt, grandaunt, Indiana, Indiana State Industrial School for Girls, Indianapolis, Indianapolis Girls' School, Joseph Vantrallo, Joseph Ventrallo, Kaskeny, Manville Harold Dewing, Michigan, Prindle, Rosie Venck, Rudolph H Tolliver, The Fort Wayne Daily News, The Indiana Girls' Industrial School, The Indiana Industrial School for Girls, This Ancestor Went to Market, Tolliver, Venck, Youthful Shoplifers | 1 Comment

My Ancestor Capt. Humphrey Underhill of Clifford Chambers, Gloucestershire, England & Jamaica (Queens), New York & Rye, New York. War & Peace, 52 Ancestors, Week 45

Posted on November 3, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

In writing a response to this week’s 52 Ancestors writing prompt War and Peace, I thought about writing about any of my numerous ancestors and their war service and stories, I have ancestors that served in all the wars in the United States, back when it was still a British Colony, all the way through the wars of the 20th century. Making for so very many ancestors I could write about this week.

Then I considered looking at all the first names and surnames in my tree and seeing which ones have meanings tied to war, peace, and/or war and peace.

I found direct ancestors with first names and/or surnames with a meaning directly related to war: protecting army (Werner), famous warrior (Ludwig), warlike/warrior (Martin), renowned, famous battle/warrior (Lewis/Louis), strong fighter (Armstrong), warlike champion (Carroll), battle worthy (Harvey), brave as a bear (Barrett), ruler of the army (Wouter/Walter), and world rulers/rulers of the world (O’Donnell).

I also found direct ancestors with first names and/or surnames with a meaning directly related to peace: peaceful power (Fried), peace of God (Gottfried), pledge of peace (Geoffrey), dove/peaceful (Jemima), and peace (Solomon).

The first name Humphrey has a meaning of peaceful warrior, which I suppose due to its meaning could be listed under both the war and peace categories. It comes from the Middle English and Norman French personal name Humfrey from the ancient Germanic Hunfrid Humfrid composed of the elements hūn- ‘bear cub’ + frithu ‘peace’. The name was borne by a 9th-century Christian saint bishop of Therouanne who had a certain following in England among Norman settlers. (1)

I decided to write about my ancestor Humphrey Underhill this week because of the meaning of his first name, that he grew up in England during the time period of the English Civil War (1642-1651), as well as the fact he was designated with the title of Captain due to being in an early Colonial American militia.

The above photo is of the village of Clifford Chambers, taken in the 1950s. This photo image is located in the *Warwickshire County Record Office*.

Humphrey Underhill was born about 25 February 1632 in Clifford Chambers, Gloucestershire, England, and died 3 July 1722 in Rye, Westchester, New York, USA. He was the son of Humphrey Underhill and Margaret Hall. He married Sarah Rowlesson.

Clifford Chambers is a village two miles south of the Stratford-upon-Avon town center. It consists of 150 houses and the population of the parish in the 2001 census was 418 people. Until 1 April 2004 the village was in its own parish, but it is now part of the parish of Clifford Chambers and Milcote. The village was in Gloucestershire until 1971, when it then became part of Warwickshire. The River Stor runs along the north-eastern edge of the village. (2) The extended Underhill family were owners of many properties in Warwickshire. For example, Shakespeare’s final home, New Place, in Stratford-upon-Avon, was sold to him by William Underhill in 1597.

Humphrey Underhill grew up in Clifford Chambers and was living there throughout the period of the English Civil War (1642-1651), a time when the region was the scene of divided loyalties and several large battles. Living in England during this time period would have very much affected the Underhill children.

The English Civil War refers to a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royals and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the struggle consisted of the First English Civil War, the Second English Civil War and the Third English Civil War. The latter is also known as the Anglo-Scottish war, since most of the fighting took place in Scotland. (3 & 4)

Humphrey Underhill, father of Capt. Humphrey Underhill, was the son of John Underhill and Margaret Wylmer, and the grandson of John Underhill and Margaret Middlemore. It is this Middlemore line that goes quickly back to Sir Thomas Throckmorton and Margery Olney.

As young adults, Humphrey Underhill and his sister Mary came to New Amsterdam [New York] in the early 1660s to live with their maternal uncle Thomas Hall (Haal). Their uncle Thomas Hall married Anna Medford, but they had no children and in Anna’s will she names Humphrey and Mary Underhill as Thomas Hall’s heirs. (5) The above artwork is capturing New Amsterdam becoming New York. Humphrey and Mary arrived a few years prior to this, but it gives an idea of what it looked like at the time.

There has been great confusion and various names given as to who was the mother of the siblings Humphrey and Mary Underhill. The name of the mother of Humphrey and Mary Underwood comes from recently published research, it is found in the January 2022 issue of New York Genealogical and Biographical Record (Volume 153 Issue 1, by Simon Parker-Galbreath). It has an article on Mary [Underwood Stites] and her origins. Based on the author’s research, Mary’s mother has been determined to be Margaret Hall, sister of Thomas Haal (Hall), both of whom were children of Rev. Stephen Hall, of Weston-on-Avon, Gloucestershire, England. In his will, Stephen named grandchildren George Underhill and Margaret Underhill, both children of his daughter Margaret Hall who had married Humphrey Underhill. Stephen also named his son Thomas Hall, who had removed from England as of the date of Stephen’s will (1639).

There has also been some confusion with people connecting Capt. Humphrey Underwood to two men both named Capt. John Underwood. From page 1 of the Underhill Genealogy: Almost 350 years ago the first Underhill crossed the Atlantic to settle in the New World. From a Warwickshire family that traced its lineage to the 13th century farmstead of Underhill in Staffordshire, Capt. John Underhill arrived at Boston in 1630 and eventually settled on Long Island, New York. His descendants form the largest Underhill family of North America. A SECOND CAPT. JOHN UNDERHILL came from Warwickshire to Virginia in 1651, while CAPT. HUMPHREY UNDERHILL came from Gloucestershire to New York by 1666. Both these men have descendants, but none bearing the name Underhill in a male line.

There was a cousin kinship between Capt. Humphrey Underhill and the two men named Capt. John Underhill. Both are Warwickshire Underhill families. Humphrey Underhill is from Clifford Chambers which at the time was in Gloucestershire but is now, as of the early 1970s, in Warwickshire. But neither of the Capt. John Underwood men were his father.

After arriving in New York with his sister Mary, Humphrey Underhill was living in Jamaica, Long Island, where he lived for the next six or seven years and was while there, he elected fence viewer and pounder. It was there that he married Sarah, widow of one of Jamaica’s ubiquitous Smiths. Neither her maiden name nor the first name of her Smith husband is known, but it has been strongly suspected that she was a sister of John Rowlesson, a Dutchman, to whom Humphrey sold his Jamaica house and some twenty acres, 14 September 1675. The last mention of Humphrey at Jamaica was 6 April 1676, when he sold his rights in the town’s undivided lands.

He removed to Rye, where in 1681 he purchased the “Vineyard Farm” for £700 in provisions. He also acquired land in the White Plains Patent of Rye, and eventually settled in that section of the town. In 1705 he was to build a mill on the Mamaroneck River, where son-in-law Samuel Hunt would grind corn. Humphrey became a prominent citizen of Rye. The town’s records often call him Captain, presumably a militia rank. In 1689 he represented the town at a county meeting, and in 1696 was elected one of Westchester County’s delegates to the NY General Assembly. In this period Rye, as a border town, also sometimes gave its allegiance to Connecticut, and in 1692 and again in 1697/8, Capt. Humphrey was a Deputy to the Connecticut General Court at Hartford.

Mr. Underhill, as he was so called in 1715, was a man of high consideration among his fellow townsmen, who chose him in 1692 for a delicate mission to the government of Connecticut. He was also twice sent as deputy to Hartford during the revolt of the town to Connecticut, 1697-1700. He was living in 1725.

In his will, he wrote on 3 July 1722:

I, Humphrey Underhill, of Rye, in the County of Westchester, being sick. I leave to my wife, Sarah, all my estate during her life. I leave to my daughter Elizabeth, wife of Samuel Meritt, and to her heirs, all that my piece of land, which he has now within fence, on the south side of the highway, and so along by the said highway, as far as to the old Lots, and so along by the said Lots southerly, within a rod of the Great Swamp, as far as my land goes; and thence cross a white oak tree which stands marked, and thence to the corner by the road; Also the land where his house stands, from the place where the marked tree is, between that and Samuel Hunt’s land, as far as the fence now goes along the road, and then northerly a rod over the run, and thence to a heap of stones, to make it equal front and rear. To daughter Mary, wife of Samuel Hunt, 5 shillings. To grandchildren Underhill Barnes, Thomas Barnes, William Barnes, Elizabeth Clarke, Sarah Clarke, Hannah Clarke, repeating Elizabeth Clarke, 3 pounds 10 -. To daughters Sarah Budd and Elizabeth Merritt all household goods. To grandson Underhill Budd all the land except as above. To wife’s son Benjamin Smith 3 pounds. Wife Sarah, Samuel Merritt and Jonathan Haight as exe. Wits Jonathan Smith, Jonathan Purdy and John Carhart. Proved 22 Oct 1722. Calendar of NY Wills. (5)

My direct ancestor Sarah [Underhill] Budd is listed in her father’s will, as well as her son Underhill Budd. My 8th great-grandmother, Sarah Underhill, married Joseph L. Budd on 11 October 1695 in Rye, New York. He was the son of Lieut. John Budd (II) and Mary Horton.

With her marriage the Underhill surname is lost, and the family name becomes Budd. It remained Budd for two generations, then becoming Palmer, it remained Palmer for three generations before becoming Kennedy.

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is decorative-2.png

Humphrey Underhill is a direct descendant of Alfred the Great and Charlemagne.

Famous direct descendants of Humphrey Underhill and Margaret Hall include:

Juliette Gordon Low, Founder of the Girl Scouts, and American Business Tycon Howard Hughes.

Humphrey Underhill is a direct descendant of Sir Thomas Throckmorton and Margaret Olney, and there are numerous famous cousin kinships that share these same Throckmorton ancestors.

My direct line:

Humphrey Underhill and Margaret Hall
Capt. Humphrey Underhill and Sarah Rowlesson
Sarah Underhill and Joseph L. Budd
Maj. John P. Budd and Mary Prudence Strang
Elijah Budd and Ursula “Ursy” Sine
Mary Budd and Solomon Palmer
Floyd Palmer and Barbara Wolf
John Palmer and Mary Ann Spotts (Spatz)
Susan Palmer and Capt. John Davis Kennedy (my 2nd great-grandparents).

References:

Humphrey Name Meaning. Ancestry.com
Clifford Chambers, England. wikipedia.org
Worden, Blair (2009). The English Civil Wars, 1640-1660. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 2.
English Civil Wars. Wikepedia.org
Pelletreau, William S., Abstracts of Wills on File in the Surrogate’s Office, City of New York, pub. as Collections of the New York Historical Society (Vol. I, 1665-1707, pub. 1892), p. 41 (will of Anna Medford).

Additional Sources:

Merritt, Douglas, Revised Merritt Records (New York, Tobias A. Wright, 1916).
Budd, Lily Wright, John Budd, 1599-1670, and Some of His Descendants (Franktown,
CO, 1992)

Halloween Surnames. My Crackbone Ancestors from In and Around White Notley, Essex, England. Bones, Brooks, Ravens, and Crows. A Side Connection to Edgar Allen Poe.

Posted on October 22, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

I wrote this five days early, knowing the 52 Ancestors writing prompt coming up was going to be Spirits. To me, Crackbone is a perfect surname to write about at Halloween. It conjures up thoughts about cracking bones, graveyard bones, ghosts and spirits.

Well Halloween is quickly approaching, and whenever I ponder on my Crackbone ancestors, I think, wow, that would be an awesome surname to write about near Halloween! 🎃

The meaning of the Crackbone surname is not completely known, we can only glean the meaning of the surname by splitting it up into two elements. The second element of the surname may refer to legs rather than bones proper [From the Old English bán, bone, leg = Old Norse and German bein, bone, leg]. (1)

Crackbone, Crackbon. Another take on the second element of the surname is that it is from some local name compounded of bourn which means a brook, Anglo-Saxon bum. Hence Smallbone, Collarbone, Crackbone, Fulborn, Kneebone, Newbone, Newborne, Stubborne, Whalebone. (2)

Side by side comparison of a raven and a crow. Photo by Randy Weisser.

The surname Crack, by itself, is thought to be a nickname surname from the Middle English word crak, crayke (Old Scandinavian krákr), meaning a crow [carrion crow] or raven, and hence a person with the characteristics of those birds. Sometimes voiced to sound like crag. (3)

Even if the surname does not have a meaning related to cracking bone(s) 🎃, the crow and raven are very much tied to the Halloween holiday and spooky stories.

The crow is a large black bird found in a variety of habitats worldwide, crows have long been associated with death and darkness, thanks to their coloring and certain behaviors—namely a fondness for the flesh of dead animals, including humans. During wartime, observers have reported crows swooping down to feed on fallen soldiers. The birds prefer soft tissue such as eyes or the meat inside an open wound. One superstition holds that if a crow lands on a roof, death or misfortune will befall the home’s inhabitants. (4)

Like crows, which are close relatives, ravens have also been long viewed as symbols of evil or death. Just think of the creepy poem The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe. Also, carrion eaters, ravens are likewise highly intelligent birds that can learn to mimic other species, including humans. In Sweden, their harsh calls traditionally were considered to be voices of murdered people who were inappropriately buried. Germans believed that ravens could locate the souls of the dead and that witches hitched rides on the birds’ backs. (4)

Ravens are extremely intelligent, confident, and inquisitive birds often referenced to in lore and literature. Even though their appearance is often associated with bad omens and loss, they have sophisticated symbolism and messages attached to them. Ravens are considered mediator animals between life and death, and many cultures associate them with lost souls. (5)

Fun side note, I share English ancestors Edward Sale and Elizabeth Gifford with Edgar Allen Poe. My maternal line back to Elizabeth Sale (daughter of Edward Sale and Elizabeth Gifford) who married William Preston: Cole-Prindle-Canfield-Mallory-Preston-Sale. My Crackbone ancestors are also on my maternal side, on a related line: Cole-Prindle-Plumb-Crackbone.

Crackbone surname in England.

What is known is that the Crackbone surname is mostly found in historical records in Essex, England. Mostly in Chelmsford, Terling, Coggeshall, White Notley, and areas nearby, which are all close in distance to each other. The surname is found in records spelled as Crackbone, Crackbon, Crakeborne, and occasionally as Cragbone or Cracbone.

My 11th great-grandmother is Grace Crackbone, who was born 7 May 1564 in Terling, Essex, England, and died 22 July 1615 in Great Yeldham, Essex, England. She was the daughter of Robert Crackbone and Avis Avice ___. She married 14 December 1584 to Robert Plumb in East Hanningfield, Essex, England. He was the son of Robert Plumb and Elizabeth Purcas (Purchas).

All Saints Church and Churchyard in Terling, Essex, Enland. The Anglican church dedicated to All Saints is located on the village green. The body of the church is medieval, restored in the 19th century, while the brick-built tower dates from 1732.

Her father Robert Crackbone was born about 1525 in White Notley, Essex, England, and died 14 August 1599 in Terling, Essex, England. He married Avis Avice ____, she died November 1591 and is buried in in the All Saints Churchyard in Terling, Essex, England.

Robert Crackbone was the son of Thomas Crackbone and Felis/Felyce/Phyllis ____ of White Notley.

As referenced above in The American Genealogist, Thomas Crackbone is thought to be the son of Richard Crackbone of the same parish of White Notley in Essex, England.

The known Crackbone kin living in Coggeshall, Essex, England were Gilbert Crackbone born about 1596 in Coggeshall. He married first on 18 June 1627 in Coggeshall to Mary Eastwood. He married second to Elizabeth ____ Robbins on 17 June 1656 in Massachusetts, USA. He died 2 January 1672 in Cambridge, Middlesex Massachusetts. The distance between Coggeshall and White Notley is 9.6 miles (15.4 km). Gilbert Crackbone’s parentage is unproven, but there appears to be at least a cousin kinship between the families.

With my ancestor Grace Crackbone’s marriage to Robert Plumb, the name is lost in my direct family line and becomes Plumb for the next four generations. Robert Plumb was a significant landowner in Essex and Suffolk, holding the manors of Yeldham Hall and Spaynes Hall in Great Yeldham and The Poole, also in Essex, as well as estates in Clare, in Suffolk. He is mentioned in the Visitation of Essex of 1634, indicating that he had been granted a coat of arms and was thus of the gentry class. (6 & 7)

My line continues with their son John Plumb. He was born 28 July 1594 in Spaynes Hall, Great Yeldham Essex, England, and died 1 July 1648 in Branford, New Haven, Connecticut. John Plumb came from the minor gentry of Essex and received Ridgewell Hall from his father. He is known to have been living there in 1634 for he is listed in the Visitation of Essex of that year. He first appears in the records of Connecticut in Sep 1636. He was a ship owner and did quite well in the Colonial British American Colonies. (6 & 7)

In 1637, he was a member of the General Court. He fought in the Pequot War, and it is likely that it was his ship that was used in the expedition. He traded regularly with the Indians up and down the Connecticut River and owned more than one ship for that purpose. He was appointed to attend to the clearance of vessels at Weathersfield, because his house was near the water. In 1637 he was appointed to the commission designated by Massachusetts to govern Connecticut. He held several town offices in Weathersfield and was a member of the General Court, on and off, until 1644. (6 & 7)

In that year he moved to Branford and sold his land in Weathersfield, consisting of thirteen parcels from two to 204 acres in size. He was appointed town clerk of Branford and held that office until his death. He was married to Dorothy ____ (possibly Chaplin or Wood) about 1616. (6 & 7)

I will write in the future about my Plumb and related ancestors in more detail in a different blog post.

A young Franklin D. Roosevelt with his mother Sara Delano. Both descendants of John Plumb and Dorothy ____.

The list of famous kin of Grace Crackbone and Robert Plumb includes U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Author Ernest Hemingway, and Fashion Designer Gloria Vanderbilt.

My direct line:

Richard Crackbone of White Notley, Essex, England.
Thomas Crackbone and Felis/Felyce/Phyllis ____.
Robert Crackbone and Avis/Avice ____.
Grace Crackbone and Robert Plumb.
John Plumb and Dorothy ____.
Robert Plumb and Mary Baldwin.
John Plumb and Elizabeth Norton.
Dorothy Plumb and Samuel Prindle.

The name stays Prindle down to my great-grandmother Anna Cora Prindle Cole, when it then changes to Cole.

Happy Hallowtide / Halloweenmas season to all my Cole/Prindle kin. 🎃🐦‍⬛👻🦇⚰️🕷️🕸️🕯️🧙‍♀️🧹🎃

References:

Harrison, Harry (1912). Surnames of the United Kingdom, a concise etymological dictionary. Eaton Press.
Charnock, Richard Stephen (1868). Ludus Patronymicus: Or, The Etymology of Curious Surnames. Trübner & Co. pp. 21 & 100.
Hanks et al. (2016). The Oxford Dictionary of Family Names in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. via Ancestry.com
This Halloween, Meet Four “Spooky” Birds Across many cultures, certain birds have been traditional symbols of bad luck or death. Here are four spooky species that inhabit North America. by Laura Tangley, Oct. 04, 2010. The National Wildlife Federation Magazine Online.
Raven Spirit Animal Symbolism and Meaning by Niccoy Walker. A-Z Animals.com
Ship Owner in Early Connecticut — John Plumb, Ancestor Biographies, STORIES OF THE PEOPLE ON MY PEDIGREE. Laura M., blogspot.com
The American Genealogist. Vol. 30 (1954), pp. 187-190.

My Baldwin Ancestors. The Name Means Bold, Brave Friend. 52 Ancestors, Week 42: Friends.

Posted on October 15, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

I considered writing about my numerous Quaker, Society of Friends, Friends Church, ancestors with this week’s writing prompt of Friends. But there are so many that I decided it was best to write about them in the future, individually, and as family units.

I opted instead to write about my English Baldwin ancestors.

Baldwin is an English and Germanic boy’s name and surname that means bold, brave friend, derived from the Old German elements bald meaning bold, brave and wini meaning friend. In the Middle Ages this was a popular name in Flanders and among the Normans, who brought it to Britain. (1) I must assume at some point in the history of my Baldwin ancestors, they were given this surname because someone was a bold, brave friend. I very much like the meaning of this name.

The furthest I can take my Baldwin lines back with certainty is to Richard Baldwin and his wife Ellen Apuke. Ellen was probably the sister of John Apuke, referred to as brother in the will of her husband. Richard Baldwin was not the son of Sir John Baldwin, MP, but they do appear to have had a kinship, possibly as cousins, or even as uncle/nephew [see below re: Manor of Dundridge]. According to Jacobus, Richard Baldwin was the son of Robert Baldwin and Agnes Dolte. (2)

Later generations of Ellen Apuke’s kin, via her brother, adopted a new spelling of the surname Apuke and changed it to Pooke in the 1800’s in England.

Richard Baldwin, who is listed as of Dundridge Manor, was born about 1503 in Buckinghamshire, England. He married Ellen Apuke about 1524 in the village of Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England. He died in early 1533 in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England.

Abstract of the will of Richard Baldwin:

To be buried in the church-yard of Aston Clinton; to Alis my daughter, 20 marks when married; to Agnes my daughter £12 when 19 and to Cicelly and Letise my daughters each £10, when 19;to John my son, my farm at Dongrove in the parish of Chesham, when 23, but if he die before that age, then the same to Henry, my son; to Richard my son, my tenth in Cholsbury and the lands belonging thereto, when 23; to Ellyn my wife and Henry my son the rents of my said houses & lands towards bringing up my children; to Heughe Baldwin, my brothers son, £6. 13`4`; smalll bequests to godchildren, tenants & servants; Henry my son 10 silver spoons and a maser; the residue of all personalty to Ellyn my wife and Henry my son equally, & they to be my executors; overseers of my will, my brothers John Baldwyn & John Apuke

The Manor of Dundridge

As early as 1320, the manor was in the possession of the Montacutes; it desended to Margaret, Countess of Salisbury, who was beheaded in 1541, when under her attainder, it fell to the crown.

Shortly after, King Henry, VIII, bestowed it upon Sir John Baldwin, the Chief Justice, who held it at his death, 24 Oct 1545, when with other estate, it passed to his heirs, who were as stated in the inquisition postmortem, Thomas Pakington, son and heir of his daughter Agnes, and John Burlacy, son and heir of his daughter Petronilla.

In the subsequent division of the estate, Dundridge appears to have fallen in the sole possession of the Pakingtons, passing from Thomas Pakington, heir, to his son and heir, John Pakington, who on the 1st of March, 1577-8, according to Patent Roll, 20 Eliz., Part 5, alienated it, with other messuages, tenements, &c., in Aston Clinton, Chesham, and Wendover, co., Bucks, to “Henry and Richard Baldwin,” and it was they of course who paid the taxes upon it the following year, wrongly stated elsewhere, to have been paid by “Sylvester Baldwin, & his son Henry.”

As Joseph Chester states in his book, “Richard Baldwin, in his will, in 1552/3, described himself as of Dundridge, he could only have been the tenant of the manor, as the ownership did not pass from the Pakingtons until 1577-8.” (3)

St. Michael and All Angels Churchyard, Aston Clinton.

My line continues with the son Henry Baldwin who is listed above in the abstract of his father’s will: to Ellyn my wife and Henry my son the rents of my said houses & lands towards bringing up my children.

Henry Baldwin was born after 1 Sept 1530 in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died 1 June 1602 at Dundridge Manor, Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England. He married 21 July 1555 in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England to Alice Kinge.

The will of Henry Baldwin was dated 2 January 1599/1600; titling himself Henry Baldwin of Dundridge Yeoman; of the parish of Aston Clinton, co., Bucks, Yeoman; he was buried at Aston Clinton on 1 June 1602; and his will proved at London, in the Prerogative Court of Canterbury, 2 July 1602, by Richard Baldwin, son and his named executor. (3)

Alice Kinge was born about 1533 in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died 23 Nov 1626 at about 93 years of age at Dundridge Manor, Aston Clinton Buckinghamshire, England.

Her will gives a great amount of family information. Her will was proven 14 Dec 1626, and it lists her sons Richard and John Baldwin as executors, and if unable she lists her son Sylvester Baldwin and her son-in-law Richard Salter.

Her will lists her three sons: Richard, Sylvester, and John. Her daughters Mary Baldwin Salter, Jane Baldwin Bonas, and daughter Agnes Baldwin Stonehill is listed as deceased.

Her will lists the following grandchildren:

Grandchildren by son Sylvester: John, Henry, Sylvester, Richard, William, Alice, and Jane Baldwin.
Grandchildren by son John; Richard, John, Mary, Agnes, and Martha Baldwin.
Grandchildren by daughter Mary (Baldwin) Salter; Richard, Thomas, John, David, Susanna, Mary, and Sarah Salter.
Grandchildren by daughter Jane (Baldwin) Bonas: Richard, Thomas, John, Christian, Faith, Mary, and Jane Bonas.
Grandchildren by deceased daughter Agnes (Stonehill) Baldwin, wife of Henry Stonehill: Henry, Jane, and Agnes Stonehill.
Grandchild of Robert Baldwin, Anne Baldwin.

She also lists her brothers: Thomas and Robert King(e), it mentions children, but only names one nephew, William King(e), son of Thomas, and her sister Marie (King/e) Montague.

Children of Henry Baldwin and Alice Kinge:

Richard Baldwin born before 1560 in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England and died 29 Nov 1636. He married Christian Towckfield. He died childless.
Sylvester Baldwin (Sr.) born 28 Sept 1560 at Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died before 16 Feb 1632 at Cholesbury, Buckinghamshire, England. He married on 28 Sept 1590 at Cholesbury, Buckinghamshire, England, to Jane Wells. (my direct ancestors).
Robert Baldwin born about 1562 at Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died 1605 at Aston Clinton. He married Joane Robinson.
John Baldwin born about 1565 at Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died Oct 1637 at Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England. He married about 1581to Hannah ____.
Jane Baldwin born about 1577 at Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died before 4 June 1622 at Aston Clinton. She married about 1599 to James Bonas.
Mary Baldwin born about 1578 at Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died 1637. She married 30 Jan 1598/9 at Aston Clinton to Richard Salter.
Agnes Baldwin born 1579 at Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, and died 1622. She married Henry Stonehill.

The Baldwin family has a long association with the village of Aston Clinton and many of my Baldwin ancestors and their kin are buried in the churchyard of St. Michael and All Angels Church, Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire.

The above stained-glass window in found in the north aisle of St. Michael and All Angels
Church, in Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England. The wording reads:

“To the Glory of God and in memory of ROBERT BALDWIN and his descendants who lived at Dundridge Manor in this parish c. 1520 – 1638 And of those who emigrated to New England with SILVESTER BALDWIN“.

The window was donated by American Baldwin descendants in the 1960s.

My line continues with the second son listed above, Sylvester Baldwin (Sr.), who married Jane Wells.

Sylvester Baldwin (Sr.) was mentioned in the will of his grandmother (Ellen Apuke) Baldwin in 1565/6, in his father’s will of 2 Jan 1599/1600, and in his mother’s will (Alice King(e) Baldwin) 4 June 1622.

The Church of St. Leonard founded circa 1278, which is about 3 3/4 miles southeast by south of the parish church of Aston Clinton was in 1586 in the tenure of Silvester Baldwin who held other lands in the same parish which Queen Elizabeth had granted to Sir Edward Stanley, Knight and his heirs.
He acquired property in 1592 in Flitwick, Bedfordshire, England about 25 miles from the Church of St. Leonard. The document of conveyance identifies Sylvester as the son of Henry Baldwin of Dundridge. (3)

In 1603 and 1605 the Sylvester Baldwyn’s house was infected with the plague. (3) Today, the plague is best known as the Black Death or the bubonic plague. Medieval people called it “the blue sickness,” La pest (“the Pestilence”), and “the Great Mortality.” (4)

In 1628, his name appears on tax records in Flitwick. (3)

Regarding the burial record of Silvester Baldwin of 1 Jun 1632 at Flitwick.

From Rev. Canon Michael Bradley:

People will have been buried here [ancient burial ground in Flitwick] for centuries, including 1632 but churchyard burial plots will have been re-used and any wooden or stone memorials will have long perished.

Sylvester Baldwin (Sr.) and wife Jane Welles had the following children:

George Baldwin born about 1590, and died 21 Nov 1596, he is buried at Cholesbury.
Richard Baldwin born about 1591, and died before 1661 he married April 1607 at Aylesbury, to Philippa Corbman.
Henry Baldwin born about 1593 and died 14 Sept 1661 at Guildford, Surry. He married 10 May 1627 at London, to Mary Hurst.
John Baldwin born before 1599, and died 20 Feb 1631/32, and is buried at Bedfordshire. He likely died unmarried.
Sylvester Baldwin (Jr.) born about 1599 and died 21 June 1638 at Sea on the ship Martin, on his way to British Colonial America. He married about 1620 to Sarah Bryan(t). His wife and children, who were also on the ship Martin, emigrated to the British Colonial Connecticut Colony. (my direct ancestors).
William Baldwin born 1601 and died after 1676.
Jane Baldwin born 1602 and died 2 July 1629. Named in the will of her grandmother Alice on 4 Jun 1622. Likely died unmarried.
Alice Baldwin born 4 May 1605. She married 4 May 1629 at Milton Ernest, England, to John Edwards as his first wife.

My line continues with the fifth son listed above, Sylvester Baldwin (Jr.) and his wife Sarah Bryan(t). He with his wife and their five children, who were all baptized at Aston Clinton, Buckinghamshire, England, left England on the good ship, Martin. He made a nuncupative (oral) will at sea on 21 June 1638, and he died aboard the ship on the same day. It is assumed he was buried at sea, since the ship arrived in Boston three weeks later on 3 July 1638. His will was proved 4 July 1638, before Dep. Gov. Dudley in Boston making Sarah, his wife, and Richard, his son, executors of his estate.

Children of Sylvester Baldwin Jr. according to the Aston Clinton Registers:

Sarah baptized 22 April 1621; she married Benjamin Fenn.
Richard baptized 25 August 1622; he married Elizabeth Alsop.
Mary baptized 28 February 1623/24; buried 3 Nov 1625.
Mary baptized 19 February 1625/26; she married Robert Plumb of Milford. (my direct ancestors).
Martha baptized 20 April 1628.
Samuel baptized 1 July 1632; buried 4 January 1633.
Elizabeth baptized 28 January 1633; buried 31 January 1633/34
John (known as John Baldwin of Stonington), baptized 28 October 1635; he married Rebecca (Palmer) Chesebrough.
Ruth – not shown on Aston Clinton church register but mentioned in her father’s nuncupative will in 1638 aboard the ship Martin.

Sarah Byran(t) Baldwin married second to Capt. John Astwood, one of the seven pillars and judges of Milford. Capt. Astwood went to London on business for the Colony and died there about 1653.

Sarah’s Memorial on Bridge. The memorial stones of the founding families of Milford are incorporated into the bridge structure. Above her stone is her daughter Mary Baldwin and Mary’s husband Robert Plumb, they are also my direct ancestors.

In 1641, the “Widow” Baldwin was given a lot in the southwest square or Hertfordshire quarter of New Haven which is now located at the corner of Chapel and York Streets in New Haven, Connecticut.
The family vacated their property in New Haven and moved with the group of founders to Milford. Her name is on one of the memorial stones on the Bridge over the Wepawaug River in Milford (pictured aove).

My line continues with their daughter Mary Baldwin who married Robert Plumb, he was the son of John Plumb and Dorothy Chaplin. At this point, the family named changes from Baldwin to Plumb. In the will of her mother Sarah Byran(t) Baldwin Astwood, Mary (Baldwin) Plumb, wife of Robert Plumb, is given most of her mother’s goods and chattels as well as a book called The Soule’s Conflict.

My direct line:

Richard Baldwin and Ellen Apuke.
Henry Baldwin and Alice Kinge.
Sylvester Baldwin (Sr.) and Jane Wells.
Sylvester Baldwin (Jr.) and Sarah Bryan(t).
Mary Baldwin and Robert Plumb.
Dorothy Plumb and Samuel Prindle (my 8th great-grandparents).

My Baldwin ancestors are on my maternal side and are the ancestors of my great-grandmother Anna Cora Prindle Cole.

There are many famous kin descended from my Baldwin ancestors. A few famous descendants of my direct ancestors Mary Baldwin and Robert Plumb are:

First Lady Mary Geneva “Mamie” Doud Eisenhower.

Ernest Hemingway, First Lady Mamie (Doud) Eisenhower, and Prior Prime Minister of the UK Boris Johnson.

Go here to view the full list of famous kin and direct descendants of Richard Baldwin and Ellen Apuke.

References:

Jacobus, Donald Lines, ed., The Ancestry of Lorenzo Ackley and his Wife Emma Arabella Bosworth, Woodstock, Vermont: N. Grier Parke, II (1960), p 182.
Chester, Joseph Lemuel, Investigations concerning the family of Baldwin, of Aston Clinton. Privately published and printed, Boston, MA, 1884.
The Black Plague: The Least You Need to Know by Dr. Kip Wheeler, English Professor at Carson-Newman University.

Additional Sources:

Wheeler, Richard. History of the Town of Stonington, County of New London, Connecticut (Day Publishing, Co., New London, Conn., 1900) Page 223

Three Interesting Tradesmen/Occupational Surnames in My Family Tree with Unique Meanings. Blower and Horne in England and Höerner/Hörner in Germany. 52 Ancestors, Week 36: Tradesman.

Posted on August 31, 2023 by Anna Kasper, ACDP

This week’s writing prompt is Tradesman. I thought about writing about some of my ancestors and their trades and occupations, but instead opted to write about three of the surnames of my ancestors that are derived from their trade/occupation, all three with very similar origins. I have myriad of ancestors with surnames that are directly related to a trade, but I chose Blower, Horne, and Höerner/Hörner because I thought their meanings related to their occupation were quite interesting, and somewhat unique.

I will first write about the surname Blower, its origins, history, and meaning, and my Blower ancestors.

It is an English surname, an occupational name from the Middle English blouer ‘blower’ (Old English blāwere) and was someone who blew a bellows on a church organ, or a horn that was typically used to call workmen to work or as a huntsman. (1)

Large organs were built in churches from at least 1100. These instruments had many pipes and required several huge bellows to provide their wind. The job of a calcant, or bellows-pumper [the blower], was quite taxing. One got to rest during the sermon, but then would be wakened by a bell rung by the organist when it was time to start pumping again. – American Guild of Organist (2)

It is quite possible that my original ancestor with the surname Blower, was named as such because they were one of these bellows-pumpers for a church organ. It sounds like quite the laborious job!

Graphic from American Guild of Organists

But is also equally likely that the original ancestor given this surname blew a horn that was used to call workmen or was a horn blower of the hunt. (1)

Photo: Annie Rosén. Exploring the medieval hunt.

I find this second meaning to be more to my liking! A more interesting occupation, with a musical ability implied.

Although the surname blower is an occupational surname, there is a smaller chance that my ancestor was given the name as a nickname, established by the year 1300, for a loud or boastful person, to brag, boast, bluster, speak loudly, from the same Old English root word blāwere. This meaning of the name is not quite as appealing! (1)

My connection to the surname Blower is not a recent one. My maternal 10th great-grandmother was Alice Blower, born June 1615 and baptized the same month at St. Gregory’s in Sudbury, Suffolk, England, and died November 1690 in Braintree, Norfolk, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Thomas Blower and Alice Frost. The Blower and Frost families are found in church records in Stanstead, Suffolk, England, and we can take these lines back a few more generations with them living in the Stanstead area. She married 6 January 1633/1634 at St. Katherine by the Tower, London, England, to Richard Brackett. Richard had returned to England from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to marry her and took her with him back to Boston by 1635. Alice’s parents and two of her brothers also immigrated to Massachusetts from England. (3)

The Blower line is on my maternal side. Cole – Merchant – French – Cummings – Kingsley – Brackett – Blower.

Next, I will discuss the German surname Höerner/Hörner. Its origins, history, meaning, and my Höerner/Hörner ancestors.

Höerner is derived from the German name Hörner. Hörner means horn maker and/or horn blower. In the Middle Ages, the horns of cattle were made into drinking cups or other tools. Musical instruments were also made from them and were called Hörner.

Still Life with the Drinking-Horn of the Saint Sebastian Archers’ Guild, Lobster and Glasses by Willem Kalf c. 1653.

Drinking horns were made out European bison, goat, cow, or ox horn. The first step that is needed is to remove the inner core. This is achieved by boiling or soaking the whole horn and then scraping out the softened marrow. Once the core has been removed from the horn, it’s then softened again using heat, and pressed to form its desired shape. With the drinking horns of the Vikings, the animal horn is left in its natural shape. After the horn is formed, it was coated often in beeswax. It then could be fitted with metal or other details and/or carved with etchings. (4 & 5)

I have a closer connection to my Höerner/Hörner ancestors. My 4th great-grandmother was Anna Walpurgis Hoerner. She was baptized 8 April 1750 in Niklashausen, Main-Tauber-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, and died in the USA, most likely in Maryland, but possibly in Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Johann Georg Hoerner and Maria Barbara ____. She married 27 November 1770 in Niklashausen, Main-Tauber-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany to Johann Peter Albert. Their first two children were born in Niklashausen. They immigrated to the USA by 1788. Their next child was born in New York City. They migrated to Washington County, Maryland where two daughters were born. I can take the Hoerner line back several generations, and they all lived in Niklashausen. The surname is found both as Hoerner and Horner in church records, although most often found as Hoerner, both with and without the Umlaut over the letter ö.

You can learn more about Niklashausen, and more about these ancestors in my blog entry about my ancestors named Walpurgas.

The Hoerner line is on my maternal side. Cole – Kennedy – Price – Albert – Hoerner.

Thirdly, I will discuss the Horne surname. The English surname Horne has a meaning similar to Blower and Hoerner. The name was taken on by someone who worked as a person who carved objects out of animal horn or made musical instruments. This name was also given to a person who was employed as a hornblower; in the Middle Ages, workmen were often summoned to work by the blowing of a horn, in this way, it has the same meaning as Blower. In addition to Horne initially being an occupational surname for someone who played the horn, it also could mean a person that lived near a horn-shaped geological site. (6 & 7) Pictured above is a replica of a horn mug from the Medieval-Tudor time period in English history.

My English Horne ancestor is my 7th great-grandmother Winifred Horne, born in Maryland and died in St. Mary’s County, Maryland. She married John Wheatley. She was the daughter of Edward Horne and Winifred ____. They arrived in Maryland in 1664. Although the family was from England, Edward Horne’s parentage is unproven.

My English Horne ancestry is on my paternal side. Armstrong – Norris – Wheatley – Horne.

The surname Horne also has some witchy connections. The witch association comes from Janet Horne, who was the last person legally executed for witchcraft in the British Isles. The Hornes were a mother and daughter accused of witchcraft by their neighbors. The daughter managed to escape, but the mother, Janet Horne, was killed by fire. Her story inspired the play The Last Witch by Rona Munro. (7)

A side note: The actual name of Janet Horne is unknown, “Janet Horne” or “Jenny Horne” was the generic name given to all witches in the north of Scotland at that time. (8 & 9)

References:

BLOWER Name Meaning – familysearch.org
American Guild of Organist – A Young Person’s Guide to the Pipe Organ by Sandra Soderlund, 1994.
Threlfall, John Brooks. The English Ancestry of Richard and Alice (Blower) Brackett of Braintree, The American Genealogist (The American Genealogist, Barrington, RI, 1976) Vol. 52, Page 73-4.
How do they make Viking Drinking Horns? by Gaurav Tiwari. Last updated: December 22, 2022. gauravtiwari.org
All About Drinking Horns – AleHorn.com
Horne Surname History in England – houseofnames.com
100 Powerful Witch Surnames by Chelsea Nelthropp. Updated August 28, 2023
Janet Horne – The last witch in Scotland, written by Chris Thornton | 14th of September 2022. livebreathescotland.com
Henderson, Lizanne. Witchcraft and Folk Belief in the Age of Enlightenment: Scotland 1670–1740. Palgrave McMillan, 2017.

Anna's Musings & Writings

A Tangled Web Weaved. An Invalid Spouse, a Mistress, Illegitimate Children. What a Modus Vivendi!

Updates on My Ancestors From in and Around Klingenmünster, Germany

My Ancestor Martha Willoughby. 52 Ancestors, Week 49: Family Recipe. Blindly Copying Family Information Without Vetting the Research (or Lack Thereof) is a Recipe for a Family Tree Disaster.

Abbess Elizabeth Throckmorton, 52 Ancestors, Week 47: This Ancestor Stayed Home

Michael Carter writes about the dissolution at the English Heritage website:

Youthful Shoplifters, My Grand-Aunt Goldie Cole & Her Friend Rosie Venck. 52 Ancestors, Week 46: This Ancestor Went to Market.

My Ancestor Capt. Humphrey Underhill of Clifford Chambers, Gloucestershire, England & Jamaica (Queens), New York & Rye, New York. War & Peace, 52 Ancestors, Week 45

Halloween Surnames. My Crackbone Ancestors from In and Around White Notley, Essex, England. Bones, Brooks, Ravens, and Crows. A Side Connection to Edgar Allen Poe.

My Baldwin Ancestors. The Name Means Bold, Brave Friend. 52 Ancestors, Week 42: Friends.

The Manor of Dundridge

Three Interesting Tradesmen/Occupational Surnames in My Family Tree with Unique Meanings. Blower and Horne in England and Höerner/Hörner in Germany. 52 Ancestors, Week 36: Tradesman.

Recent Posts

Archives

Categories

Meta

Anna Kasper, ACDP

Personal Links

Follow me on Twitter